Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic rules out Timo Werner transfer in the near future.
There were a lot of expectations from Bayern Munich last summer in terms of signing attacking players in the transfer market. The German club was ambitious and had top class targets, but things couldn’t materialize for various reasons.
Timo Werner was one of the numerous attacking players that were linked with a move to Bavaria. There were concrete reports in Germany suggesting that Bayern wanted to sign Werner from RB Leipzig. It was widely suggested that Die Roten had already sorted personal terms, but a bid for Werner never arrived from the Bundesliga champions.
Werner went on to sign a new deal at Leipzig. The German striker has not let the disappointment of joining Bayern affect him at all. He has been in red hot form this season, scoring 18 goals in the Bundesliga till now. His performances have helped RB Leipzig to finish Hinrunde at the top of the table, leading Die Roten by four points.
The upturn in his form is unlikely to force Bayern to sign him in summer. Speaking to SportBild, Hasan Salihamidzic explains why Die Roten didn’t bid for Werner last year and will not be doing it anytime soon.
"“Timo Werner is a good player who played an excellent first half of the season. However, we have Robert Lewandowski. Robert is a striker who fits our style of play perfectly.”“With his speed, Timo needs more rooms, which he had in the system that Leipzig played. The system at RB has now changed, but it is not as tight at the front as it is with us.”"
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Werner would straight away command a place in the starting XI. This is not happening at Bayern due to the presence of Lewandowski. The Polish striker is ageing like a fine wine. He is currently enjoying the best season of his career with 30 goals across all competitions at the halfway stage of the campaign.
The German international can play on the left flank, but it will limit his goal-scoring abilities. He will be better suited to moving to a club where he will be the main man. According to Sky Sports, Real Madrid is set to make a move for Werner in summer. The German forward will thrive at the Spanish club as he will get more opportunities in number nine role.
Lewandowski committed his long term future to Bayern by signing a new deal at the start of the season. The 31-year-old striker is confident that he will be able to play at the top level for at least four more years.
Considering all these facts, Bayern will have to start searching for a long term replacement for Lewandowski. Die Roten should try to sign a young forward or persist with someone like Joshua Zirkzee to ease the workload of Lewandowski. This will allow a younger forward to ease in the team and pro-long Lewandowski’s career at the club.