The Bayern Insider: Perez plan for Michael Olise emerges as Harry Kane claim sparks Bayern confusion
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Welcome to today’s exclusive & comprehensive round-up of all things Bayern Munich from Bayern insider Christian Falk. Featuring updates on Michael Olise, Harry Kane, Gleison Bremer, and Jules Koundé.
Today’s top stories
- Has Florentino Perez already made his intentions clear with Michael Olise transfer?
- Could Bayern Munich sign one of Gleison Bremer or Jules Koundé this summer?
- Could FC Bayern snatch a Chelsea winger?
- And plenty more on Nathan De Cat, Jamal Musiala, Arijon Ibrahimović & Noël Aséko
Dayot Upamecano sets the record straight on Michael Olise
✅ It is TRUE: Everyone can be positive about Michael Olise’s future at Bayern Munich. It’s true because we’re specifically speaking about this summer. In the next summer transfer window, we have to see what happens. I think there will be some rumours once again and pressure on this deal. But this summer, Dayot Upamecano is right: there is no chance for Olise to make a transfer in the current window. The club has made this clear to the player. Of course, the Frenchman is with the national team at the World Cup, and many players, like Kylian Mbappé, are working on him and talking up life in Real Madrid (and the weather in Spain!). But we’re happy we have Dayot Upamecano, who has some control over the situation and can say, Stop it now – he’s a Bayern Munich player, and I need him next season!
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Confusion over Florentino Perez and Herbert Hainer’s arrangement?
❌ It is NOT TRUE: Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez told his Bayern counterpart, Herbert Hainer, “In the end, you will have to sell Olise to me”. Hainer did attend a meeting with Pérez at the Bernabeu. Of course, when guys like this are together, there is a lot of joking around. Naturally, there was talk around Olise along the lines of, Hey, someday we may get him – but it was a joke! It was far from being a completely serious business chat. I’ve mentioned this subject previously when discussing the agreement between Hainer and Pérez around any prospective bid for Michael Olise. The pair, I want to reiterate, are very close, but there’s an agreement between them that there will be nothing this summer. If there will be something in the future, Florentino Pérez has already promised Herbert Hainer that he will make a call first before they do anything with the player and his agents. So, everyone can keep cool. The France international is staying with Bayern beyond the summer. Next season is a new season, and you never know! Perhaps Bayern Munich will end up winning the Champions League next season, and Olise will fancy a new experience. You never know! But for the moment: he’s staying.
Thomas Tuchel’s intriguing Harry Kane transfer claim
The guys in Munich were a little bit surprised! I had one or two calls (on the subject of Thomas Tuchel’s comments on the signing of Harry Kane at FC Bayern), and they were saying, “Who does he mean?”
Thomas Tuchel: “When I was at Bayern, I’m still glad that I fought the fight to bring him [Kane] to Bayern Munich against some other opinions.”
What I can say – and this is 100% the truth – is that Bayern Munich were working on this deal even before Tuchel came to the club. Certainly since ex-director of sport Hasan Salihamidžić made the connection to the family. Marco Neppe, who was the former technical director at the club (but has since left the role by mutual consent), held contact with Harry Kane’s family for over a year.
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There was even a secret meeting when Julian Nagelsmann was head coach. Bayern had lost against Bayer Leverkusen on the Saturday at the time (a 1-2 defeat), which prompted a decision to talk to Tuchel on the following Monday. On Tuesday, the secret meeting took place in Salihamidžić’s flat, where Thomas Tuchel was asked if he wanted to become the new coach. On this day, they also talked about possible transfers, and FC Bayern shared their future plans with Tuchel. They clearly said that they wanted to go for Harry Kane, and they asked if that was fine with the 52-year-old. Now, I heard that Thomas Tuchel said something along the lines of, This sounds nice, but let me think about it for one or two days, as he’s not the youngest player anymore. After two days, he came to the conference and confirmed that he also wanted Kane.
So, as it turns out, there were no arguments on the subject of signing the former Tottenham hitman – and it was Tuchel who needed time to think about it! That’s why it’s all a bit strange. But there are always guys like this; special guys – geniuses even – who have a slightly selective memory! I’m sure Thomas absolutely believes what he says, but perhaps there’s been so much time since then that things have just become slightly blurry.
I can say: there was not a single Bayern boss who said no to the idea of signing Harry Kane. I know how they worked on this. The CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen, fought for this, flying three times to meet the boss at Tottenham, Daniel Levy. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeneß, Oliver Kahn, Salihamidžić… everyone was focused on this deal and committed to paying a record fee to make the transfer happen. So, I don’t know any other person who could have an influence on proceedings who didn’t sign off on the move for Harry Kane. Everyone was keen!
Bayern Munich sales: Alexander Nübel & João Palhinha
Bayern Munich have to make some money. The two deals they’ve already got over the line – Nathaniel Brown and Ismael Saibari – cost, all in all, about €110m [£94.7m]. So, now they have to bring in some money with a few exits. It’s very important that Bayern got rid of Alexander Nübel, as he’s been at the club for a very long time without ever really playing. He also has a salary like a top star. He had the chance, with add-ons, to earn €11m. Of course, if he doesn’t play, and he didn’t play, it’s not so much; the base is €6m, and then it goes higher and higher with add-ons. Still, if you have such a contract, it’s not so easy to say goodbye to Bayern Munich, as you then need to find someone else to pay this! So, this was a hard negotiation for Max Eberl.
In the end, Bayern found success in talks with Beşiktaş. FC Bayern were prepared to lower his asking price, despite the 29-year-old being the third-best goalkeeper in Germany. Of course, the German national team is no longer a world champion team – perhaps not even a quarter-final team! Regardless, Germany arguably have the best selection of goalkeepers in the world, and Nübel is one of them. So, Bayern Munich made a deal. They agreed a base transfer of €6.25m with add-ons (and these are easy add-ons), which can push the deal up to €9m. If they win something really big, it could even be €11m. But ultimately, the most important thing was to get Alexander Nübel’s salary off the wage bill at Säbener Straße. Beşiktaş is paying €5m net. If you’re calculating that at Bayern it was €11m gross (with 50% on taxes), it’s quite the same. So, I think it’s a very good deal for both sides, and they made it absolutely clear to Nübel that he would have no chance to play in Munich.
There were rumours that Bayern made some sort of payment to usher the goalkeeper out the door. This is not true! They made an agreement to pay his July salary, and that was it.
✅ It is TRUE: Talks with Tottenham over signing João Palhinha are 100% dead in the water. Palhinha would also be keen to return to his native Portugal. Sporting Lisbon are keen on him, but the problem is that Bayern want to make another sale, while the former wish to secure a loan deal for the holding midfielder with a buy-option attached after a year. Bayern are firm: they want the money now. They had calculated that they would get €30m-35m if Tottenham had triggered his buy clause. Spurs won’t do that now, so Bayern want to get this money elsewhere. So, a loan wouldn’t be the perfect solution for the club, which is why this is going to take some time.
Could FC Bayern sign Jules Koundé?
✅ It is TRUE: Jules Koundé has been on Bayern Munich’s list for years. They like the player and have followed his progress, but there is no option at the moment to buy him right now, as they have to sell players. As I’ve mentioned previously, Sacha Boey is still on the list. They have too many players available in this position; Konrad Laimer can play it, as can Josip Stanišić. So, if FC Bayern can sell Boey, perhaps they can make a move for Koundé. But, at the moment, there is no opportunity to do so. Givairo Read is obviously another name the club has looked at for the right-back position. But if they can’t sell anyone here, it’s getting difficult.
Talks with Juventus over signing Gleison Bremer
✅ It is TRUE: Gleison Bremer is also on the shortlist of Bayern. Not just this summer, but also for several years. Min-jae Kim, however, is still at the club. It’s an interesting situation, as Juventus are keen on Kim, and Bremer could be an option for Bayern Munich. So, there could be an idea of a swap deal. But I heard that there’s nothing concrete; there are no talks with Kim at the moment. So, as long as Juventus doesn’t make a move for Kim, Bayern won’t make a move for Bremer.
Could Bayern Munich snatch Jesse Derry away from Chelsea?
To be honest, I haven’t yet heard Jesse Derry’s name at Säbener Straße. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t be an option for Bayern Munich. I looked into the 19-year-old winger, and he’s very interesting for FC Bayern, especially given he wouldn’t be so expensive. He could be a good backup option. But, at the moment, in the offence, Bayern have their solutions. If Derry is cheap and wants to come to Bayern Munich, officials could point to the fact that the club experienced a lot of success with the last young player to come from Chelsea, Jamal Musiala. If they have a chance to have such a talent for a small amount of money, I think Bayern would have to discuss this. But I haven’t heard anything concrete on the subject as of now.
Bayern to keep an eye on Nathan De Cat at Hoffenheim
Nathan De Cat is an interesting player. Bayern have watched him for months, but I always said there wouldn’t be any movement as the club is fully stocked with players in the Belgian’s position. This is why they now have the chance to see how the teenager will develop in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim. One of the players who is considered a talent for the future, Tom Bischof, is from Hoffenheim. FC Bayern had kept a watching brief on the footballer and were convinced they had to sign him. I’m absolutely sure that the 21-year-old will be a national player in Germany in the future. I’m sure there’s the same process going on at Bayern with De Cat. They know he has the skills they’re looking for, but at the moment, the midfield position is not a problem. So, it’s good they can keep an eye on the 17-year-old at Hoffenheim while he’s in the Bundesliga, instead of in the international market.
Time for Jamal Musiala to kick on after successful surgery
It was always in Jamal Musiala’s head that he had to remove the metal plate in his foot (surgically inserted last summer following his unfortunate injury at the Club World Cup). The secret operation, which I exclusively revealed at the time, wasn’t originally planned for this summer. Certainly, if Germany had progressed further in the World Cup than they did, there would have been no time for this surgery to take place. If it had taken place later in the summer, Musiala would inevitably have missed the first few weeks of pre-season training. However, the 23-year-old was keen to be available on the pitch from the very first moment, which is why he had the surgery now instead of later in the winter. Now the hope is that he’s completely over the injury and the midfielder can play free in his mind (and foot).
Arijon Ibrahimović to have a role in the Bayern squad
✅ It is TRUE: Bayern plan on using Arijon Ibrahimović to back up the four main attackers. It’s an opportunity. It’s the same as what they’ve done with Noël Aséko (who has the same management). They’ve also tried to bring Aséko into the squad to see how he gets on before potentially giving him away. However, Frankfurt came in fast with an offer, which is why there are now negotiations. Bayern Munich would like to have a fee of €12m, but Frankfurt says they don’t have the money for this kind of deal. But Bayern know they have the money, as they paid €55m already for Brown!
They have to create money, and if such a talent, like Aséko, has an offer, they will discuss it. The same goes for Jonathan Asp Jensen, who was the subject of an offer from Deportivo La Coruña. Bayern Munich has the idea of €7m for him. Let’s say Bayern get €10m for Aséko, €7m for Jensen, and then you have Ibrahimović, who also has a market. Bayern think it’s good to keep this talent, as they need backup options for this position. However, if there’s a good offer on the table, Bayern Munich will discuss that! So, let’s keep an eye on things as the window progresses. At the moment, it seems like Arijon Ibrahimović will stay, but I think there could be some movement here as well.