Lothar Matthaus is not surprised by reports saying Jerome Boateng could leave Bayern Munich for Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, telling AZ that the veteran defender is not only ageing but also injury prone.
The 1990 Ballon d’Or winner has a point.
At 33, Boateng is no longer a spring chicken and, in the Champions League final triumph over Paris Saint-Germain in August, he was forced off after just 23 minutes with the kind of muscle problem that tends to become more frequent with age.
But the reaction to his reported departure from Bayern fans on social media suggests there is still life in this old dog yet.
Boateng has played arguably his best football since the Pep Guardiola era after Hansi Flick took over from Niko Kovac last year, with BILD’s claims that he will not be offered a contract extension next summer causing plenty of controversy in Munich.
Matthaus, however, is backing his former employers rather than the World Cup-winning centre-back.
“It’s understandable (that they would let Boateng go). FC Bayern is looking ahead. Jerome is prone to injury and has reached a certain age,” the Germany legend said.
“In the past few years he has often had to take criticism, including from me, and that was justified. But he always behaved professionally and celebrated a great comeback under Hansi Flick.”
Matthaus believes RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano would be the ideal replacement, but adds that Bayern are not exactly short of cover at centre-half.
“There are of course some internal solutions: Lucas Hernández, Niklas Sule, Benjamin Pavard and the young Tanguy Nianzou. From what you hear, Nianzou must be a giant, a really great talent.”
BILD claims that Tottenham and Arsenal will offer Boateng, a former Manchester City man, a return to England.
It seems unlikely that the nine-time Bundesliga winner will join a rival German club due to his £170,000-a-week wages (Sport1).
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