Bayern Strikes
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Five positions Bayern Munich should address in winter market

By Kiran Thakare

MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 21: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Serge Gnabry of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's second goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and VfL Wolfsburg at Allianz Arena on December 21, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY - DECEMBER 21: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Serge Gnabry of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrates after scoring his team's second goal with team mates during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and VfL Wolfsburg at Allianz Arena on December 21, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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21 December 2019, Bavaria, Munich: Football: Bundesliga, Bayern Munich – VfL Wolfsburg, 17th matchday in the Allianz Arena. Jerome Boateng from FC Bayern Munich (l-r), Kevin Mbabu from Wolfsburg and Benjamin Pavard from FC Bayern Munich fight for the ball. Photo: Matthias Balk/DPA – IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the regulations of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to exploit or have exploited in the stadium and/or from the game taken photographs in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo series. (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)
21 December 2019, Bavaria, Munich: Football: Bundesliga, Bayern Munich – VfL Wolfsburg, 17th matchday in the Allianz Arena. Jerome Boateng from FC Bayern Munich (l-r), Kevin Mbabu from Wolfsburg and Benjamin Pavard from FC Bayern Munich fight for the ball. Photo: Matthias Balk/DPA – IMPORTANT NOTE: In accordance with the regulations of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and the DFB Deutscher Fußball-Bund, it is prohibited to exploit or have exploited in the stadium and/or from the game taken photographs in the form of sequence images and/or video-like photo series. (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images) /

Central-defense

Bayern has been vulnerable defensively in the first half of the campaign. The defending champions have been conceding goals in almost every game. Even at Allianz Arena, opponents come without fear and have enough confidence to create problems for Rekordmeister’s defense.

The defensive structure can be blamed for poor performances, but injuries have also had a fair say in Die Roten’s fortunes in the past two months. Lucas Hernandez has been struggling with injuries in his debut campaign in Germany, and Niklas Sule suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez lack pace, making them a liability in the back. The former has reportedly held talks with Hasan Salihamidzic to sort a transfer away from the club in January. In such a scenario, Bayern needs to look at a central defender in the winter market.

The German Champions started the transformation of defense in summer by bringing in Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard. One more solid young defender will make sure that they will not have to worry about defense on a medium and long-term basis. Moreover, stronger competition for places will push players to raise the level of their performances.