There are a number of reasons why Bayern Munich will be swilling Steins on the Allianz Arena pitch again come May, toasting a tenth successive Bundesliga title.
The enduring brilliance of Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich, for one.
Their commercial might, compared to that of their domestic rivals. The excellent coaching of Julian Nagelsmann. An all-star cast up there with The Godfather.
And, in any case, how can a Dortmund, a Gladbach, a Leverkusen be expected to mount a sustained challenge if, every time they accumulate a talented crop of players with ambitions on usurping Bayern’s throne, they are picked off by wealthy suitors from across the border?
Take Leverkusen, for instance. In less than five years, the 2001 Champions League finalists have sold Hakan Calhanoglu, Kevin Kampl, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, Bernd Leno, Benjamin Henrichs, Julian Brandt, Kevin Volland, Kai Havertz and Leon Bailey.
History me about to repeat itself too. That if these latest batch of rumours are anything to go by.
In recent weeks, Patrik Schick, Kerem Demirbay, Jeremie Frimpong, Piero Hincapie and the masterful Florian Wirtz have all been linked with big-money departures.
Arguably the most in-form player in German football, meanwhile, has emerged as a £50 million summer target for nouveau-riche Newcastle United, according to The Mail.
Will Newcastle snatch Moussa Diaby from Leverkusen?
Keep Diaby, Schick, Wirtz and co and Bayern may soon have an army at their gate. Sell and Leverkusen will drift back into the shadows. Potential usurpers reduced, once again, to fighting for the title of ‘best of the rest’.
“Moussa is an important building block. We want to grow as a team and a club. We will try to keep our best players,” Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes tells Kicker of Diaby, the jet-heeled winger who’s scored seven goals in his last six games and 15 this season overall.
You can see why Newcastle like him. Diaby has always been blessed with electrifying speed but he’s a ruthless finisher these days too, as a maiden Bundesliga hat-trick against Augsburg attests.
Imagine the skill and unpredictability of Allan Saint-Maximin combined with devastating accuracy in the final third.
Now, Rolfes’ bullish comments on the former PSG starlet’s future may be seen as a step in the right direction. A sign that Leverkusen are determined to shed that ‘selling club’ tag that hangs like a noose around the necks of even the Bundesliga’s biggest clubs.
But those with long memories may recall that Leverkusen made similar noises about Kai Havertz two years ago, a few weeks before arguably the most talented German footballer of his generation put pen to paper with Chelsea.
Actions, as they say, speak louder than words.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
