Bayern Munich CEO gives update on James Rodriguez
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says Bayern Munich will make a decision on whether or not to make James Rodriguez’s loan move permanent within in the coming days.
Bayern Munich ended the season on a strong note by winning both the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal in consecutive weeks. The German giants will now turn their attention to the big overhaul of their first team squad. There will be numerous big additions to the squad as Die Roten look to build a young squad prepared for the future.
The Bundesliga champions have already announced the departures of a handful of veteran players. Bayern will now try to make final decisions on the futures of some fringe players. Jerome Boateng, for example, has already been advised by Uli Hoeness to find a new club.
Colombian superstar James Rodriguez is also unlikely to be at Bayern next season. Speaking to the media on Monday (via Marca), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claimed that the club will make a decision on James in the next week. The Bayern CEO didn’t sound optimistic about making James’ transfer permanent and ruled out any chance of his club signing the Colombian just to sell him for a higher fee later in the summer.
"“We will sit down next week and decide what we are going to do.“[Buying him to sell him for a profit] is not the Bayern way. We don’t want to do human trafficking, to push something elsewhere to make some money. Bayern have never done anything of the sort and we never will.”"
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Marca has also reported that Carlo Ancelotti is eager to reunite with James at Napoli. It was the Italian manager who signed James both at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
It is pretty certain that Bayern Munich are unlikely to take up the option of signing the Colombian midfielder on a permanent basis, but his next destination remains unknown.
This is some turnaround for James, who had a very promising debut season in Germany. It looked like a mere formality that Die Roten would make his transfer permanent. However, this season has been pretty miserable for the former Porto midfielder. He struggled with injuries and form throughout the campaign. Moreover, Niko Kovac also preferred other players in his position even when he was fit. James was reportedly unhappy with Kovac’s rotation policy early in the season, but he has always remained adamant that he is happy in Munich.
Kovac settled with a 4-2-3-1 formation in the second half of the season. Thomas Muller and Leon Goretzka will be the main options for Kovac in the number ten role after James departs this summer. Corentin Tolisso can also play in this position, but his best performances come in a deeper position.
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Bayern have been heavily linked with Kai Havertz throughout this season. The Germany international is the perfect replacement for James, but Bayer Leverkusen are likely to demand a nine-figure fee for his signature. Bayern can either look at back-up options like Christian Eriksen or Hakim Ziyech this summer or wait till next summer to sign Havertz.