FC Bayern officially presented its new midfield ace Joao Palhinha early on Tuesday evening. The presentation was not only about the 29-year-old Portuguese, but also about the consequences that his signing could bring.
It is clear that the competition in central midfield with Palhinha, Pavlovic, Kimmich, Goretzka and Laimer is huge. FC Bayern would therefore not be opposed to letting go of another player. The only candidates for this are actually Kimmich and Goretzka, although those in charge would clearly prefer Goretzka to leave.
During the Palhinha presentation, Max Eberl hinted that there might still be some farewells. “We discuss things confidentially, not in public. But one thing is clear: the competition in midfield will be extremely fierce. In the end, every player has to decide for himself what his next step is and whether he wants to accept the competition.”explained the sporting director. The announcement was probably aimed at Goretzka in particular.
The 29-year-old earns a huge salary in Munich and is tied to the club until 2026. So far he has not shown any signs of leaving FC Bayern, but the pressure on him is palpable. There is reportedly interest from Atlético Madrid and SSC Napoli.
There could also be changes in defence. The main candidates for sale here are Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt, both of whom are being linked with Manchester United. Jonathan Tah is being talked about as a possible signing, but the topic is only likely to heat up again if de Ligt actually moves.
Eberl made it clear that Hiroki Ito’s injury has no impact on activities on the transfer market. Although it is “unfortunate when a player gets injured”, it does not change “the strategy”. Eberl does not want to fall into the automatic reflex of wanting to immediately make a move on the transfer market after an injury and is relying on internal solutions. “We also have a few guys from the campus in training who are very willing to learn and are a great asset,” he explained.
For this reason, the possible Tah transfer is still on hold. Previously, one could have speculated that the Leverkusen player would be brought in immediately due to the changed situation, even without selling de Ligt. However, according to reports, Bayern are currently not planning to improve their offer to Leverkusen.
