Bayern Munich closing on the signing of Alexander Nubel
Bayern Munich has reportedly won the race to sign Alexander Nubel from Schalke.
The German champions are looking to build a young squad that can help them to sustain a long period of success. Bayern Munich took the first step towards decreasing the average age of the squad by releasing older stars in summer and signing some of the best young talents in Europe.
Die Roten has reportedly taken another step in building a younger squad by winning the race for Schalke’s Alexander Nubel. Schalke announced on Sunday that Nubel would not be extending his contract and leave the club on a free transfer in summer. Nubel can undergo his medical in January but will complete the rest of the formalities in June.
According to Kicker, Hasan Salihamidzic has convinced Nubel to join Bayern in summer over other European clubs. This report insists that Salihamidzic has laid down a proper plan in front of Nubel regarding his transition to eventually become Bayern’s number one.
Apart from Kicker, TZ and SportBild are also reporting that Nubel has decided to move to Bavaria in summer. Nubel has been heavily linked with Die Roten in the past 12 months. His contract situation at Schalke meant that Europe’s top clubs were showing strong interest in him.
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Manuel Neuer is also reportedly close to extending his contract at Bayern. There were suggestions in Germany that Neuer’s contract renewal meant that Nubel is no more interested in moving to Bavaria. Jens Lehmann also publicly urged Nubel to reject Bayern and continue his development at Schalke.
Bayern took a long time to find the right replacements for Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. They are yet to find proper replacements for star wingers. The Bundesliga champions have learned from their past mistakes and took a proactive step in securing a replacement for Neuer before it is too late.
Die Roten should now look to find a way to give Nubel the right amount of game time so that he is ready to replace Neuer in two years. They can either equally divide the game time between Neuer and Nubel next season, or play Nubel in all cup games. An approach that Barcelona followed when they had Claudio Bravo and Marc Andre Ter Stegen as their two goalkeeping options a few years ago.
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If Nubel is eager to play more, then Bayern should arrange a loan spell like they did it for Serge Gnabry two years ago. Gnabry improved a lot at Hoffenheim and managed to establish himself as an important player for Bayern in the past 18 months. Bayern may not immediately reap the rewards from Nubel’s signing, but in the long run, this transfer will be a win-win situation for all parties.