Just a year after joining Bayern Munich, Sandro Wagner could leave the club for a big money move to Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda.
Unlike the current season, Bayern Munich had little transfer fuss last January. Also unlike this season, the Bavarians made a purchase in the winter transfer window, purchasing German striker Sandro Wagner from TSG Hoffenheim for €13 million.
The big German came to play as a back-up to Robert Lewandowski, whose workload apparently needed to be lightened. Wagner came in and immediately made an impact on the Bayern squad. He made 14 Bundesliga appearances in the second half of the season, scoring eight goals and assisting two more.
Wagner brought a passion and determination to the striker position that many fans of Die Roten had been begging to see from Lewandowski. Many fans were so enamored by Wagner’s displays that they wanted him to overtake the apparently apathetic Lewandowski in the starting lineup.
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Needless to say, Wagner was a solid winter move for a meager €13 million. He gave Lewandowski plenty of rest across the Ruckrunde and scored several important goals of his own.
His pride took a significant hit over the summer, though, when Joachim Low decided to leave him out of his 23-man squad for the World Cup — a decision Wagner disagreed with to say the least. The 31-year-old hasn’t been the same since.
He’s gone goalless in the Bundesliga this season, though he’s played only a meager 138 minutes across seven appearances. He did manage to score a goal in the DFB Pokal, but he has otherwise made little impact on the season and found himself out of favor with new coach Niko Kovac.
Now, just a year after returning to his boyhood club, Wagner could be on his way out the exit door. According to a report from TZ, Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda have approached Bayern with a €5 million offer for the striker.
Wagner has previously had offers from China but always refused them. This time, however, a move to the Far East would make a little more sense for the Target Man. Tianjin is managed by former Germany international Uli Stielike, and Wagner’s former Hertha Berlin teammate Felix Bastians recently moved to the club.
He’d have two fellow Germans to help him get integrated into the new club and culture, and he’d practically be guaranteed playing time from the moment he arrives — assuming he hasn’t fallen off that far. Perhaps the most alluring factor of it all, though, is that the Chinese club is willing to offer Wagner a whopping €15 million a year, according to Bild.
Wagner not only has the chance for playing time should he agree to the move, he could become a star player at his new club. Combine that with his massive wage upgrade and the opportunity to continue working alongside fellow Germans and this move really starts to make sense from the player’s perspective.
As for Bayern Munich, they’d be foolish not to jump on this opportunity. Wagner hasn’t even come close to producing the form he showed during the second half of last season, and he has hardly been used under Niko Kovac.
It’s not as if the club would be losing their only backup to Robert Lewandowski, either. Serge Gnabry has proven himself more than capable of playing at striker, while Thomas Muller could do the job just as well as Wagner has this season — not to mention Joshua Zirkzee, who could be called up to the first team if all else fails.
Sure, the Bavarians would lose €8 million of the €13 million they paid to Hoffenheim last winter, but at this point they should pounce on the opportunity to even get €5 million of the money they spent back.
This move makes sense for all parties involved. Bayern Munich should jump on the opportunity to sell Sandro Wagner to China. Wagner, meanwhile, should relish the opportunity to finally be the star center-forward at a club, receiving a massive paycheck while doing so. He got his dream move back to his boyhood club last winter, but it’s time for that fairy-tale to come to its end and let reality take its place.