Given that Bayern Munich have tended to go about their business with a ruthless, machine-like efficiency both on the pitch and in the boardroom in recent years, it may come as a surprise to learn that some serious questions are starting to be asked about the club’s long-term planning.
After months of prolonged and drawn-out negotiations which did the reputations of neither party much good, one of FC Hollywood’s A-list superstars swapped Munich for Madrid almost as soon as the transfer window opened.
A few weeks later, Javi Martinez followed David Alaba out the door.
Bayern have also failed to tie Niklas Sule down to a new deal, talks appear to have broken down with Kingsley Coman while, according to Calciomercato, Corentin Tolisso has decided against extending his stay at Saberner Strasse too.
This means, in the space of just two years, five of the players who contributed to Bayern’s 2020 Champions League triumph – including match-winner Coman – may have departed the Allianz Arena on free transfers.
That doesn’t reflect particularly well on the divisive sporting director Hasan ‘Brazzo’ Salihamidzic; a man already under pressure following the ill-fated arrivals of Marc Roca, Bouna Sarr, Douglas Costa and Michael Cuisance.
Is Corentin Tolisso following David Alaba out of Bayern Munich?
In comparison to Sule, Coman and Alaba – regulars in the Bayern XI – you’d be forgiven for assuming that the potential departure of Tolisso would not have led to an increase in emazepam in the boroughs of Bavaria.
Bayern’s record signing back in 2017, an unforgiving and unrelenting series of injuries have restricted the £42 million World Cup winner to just 15 Bundesliga starts since the beginning of 2018/19 after all.
And even when he is fully fit, it’s hard to see a place in Julian Nagelsmann’s already stocked midfield for Tolisso.
According to Calciomercato, talks regarding a cut-price move to Tottenham Hotspur are now underway with Fabio Paratici, the club’s managing director, having tried and failed to lure Tolisso to Juventus last year.
But it is not the potential loss of Tolisso’s passing ability and long-range shooting that has Bayern fans venting their frustration on social media.
It is the fact that, yet again, the club has failed in its attempts to tie a first-team player down to a new contract.
With Sule, Coman, Serge Gnabry, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski all due to become free agents before September 2023, a worrying precedent has been set.
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