Lucas Hernandez is not fazed by the pressure that comes with the hefty transfer fee paid by Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich were busy in the summer transfer window as they decided to improve the spine of the squad. The Bundesliga champions released numerous veteran players to make space for young players at the club.
Lucas Hernandez was one of the key transfers that Die Roten completed this summer. The French defender was heavily linked with a move to Bavaria in January. However, Atletico Madrid was in no mood to sell Hernandez midway through the season.
Bayern eventually agreed to a deal with the Spanish club in March as Hernandez was sidelined for few months due to knee injury. The German champions smashed their transfer record to make Hernandez as one of the most expensive defenders.
Hernandez had to wait for his debut as he completed the recovery process in summer. Speaking L’Equipe (via SportBild), Hernandez said that he is not putting pressure on himself due to the transfer fee paid by Die Roten. He also admitted that he put in extra work in summer to be match ready as soon as possible.
"“I am aware of the financial efforts of FC Bayern to get me.”“I try not to put myself under pressure. Today we have to live in football with such enormous sums of money. I worked hard so that I can play again. Now I do not want to disappoint the club and the fans.”"
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Hernandez has featured in the last two Bundesliga games. The Frenchman has looked comfortable with Niklas Sule in central defense. This pairing is likely to be Niko Kovac’s first choice center-back pairing while Benjamin Pavard slots in the right-back position.
Kovac has numerous options in defense due to the versatility of Pavard and Hernandez. The French defenders can also play in the full-back positions, allowing the Croatian manager to use different systems. Joshua Kimmich might get an extended run in midfield this season due to arrival of these two French defenders.
Hernandez had delivered impressive performances for Atletico Madrid in Champions League. He managed to reach the final of this competition in 2016. Hernandez will be hoping to have a similar impact at Bayern. The German club has failed to win Europe’s prestigious trophy since winning the historic treble in 2013.
Sule has steadily progressed at Bayern as he was recently lauded by Virgil Van Dijk for his consistent performances in the Bundesliga. Die Roten will be hoping that Hernandez also develops similarly and form a solid partnership with the German defender. The defensive duo will have their first major test after the international break as Bayern host RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga next weekend.