The summer transfer window at Bayern Munich is largely going to be dominated by departures and arrivals in the defensive department. Rekordmeister will be looking to bring down the average age of the back four as senior defenders likely to leave.
David Alaba has already confirmed that he will be leaving the club in the summer. The Austrian defender was offered a new contract, but his wage demands eventually forced the club to withdraw all offers at the end of October.
Another possible departure is Jerome Boateng. The 32-year-old defender will also leave the club as a free transfer. German media has been reporting that Boateng will be playing for another club next season in the past four to five weeks. Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed his departure before the game against PSG on Wednesday.
The biggest hint of Boateng’s departure was provided by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge this week. While talking to The Athletic this week, Rummenigge explained the reason behind the signing of Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig. He admitted that there could be multiple departures in the defensive department.
"“We didn’t buy Upamecano to make him our big-name signing, but out of necessity. We’ll see David Alaba leave and maybe one or two defensive players too. We wanted to get the best quality available for that important position – that’s Upamecano.”"
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Who could leave apart from Boateng and Alaba?
If Rummenigge is meant to say at most three departures, then there is a strong possibility that the future of Niklas Sule is uncertain in Bavaria. The German defender has been linked with Chelsea and Manchester United in the past few months. Moreover, German media had reported that Die Roten is having doubts about giving a new contract to Sule.
Sule’s current deal is set to expire in 2022. If Rekordmeister doesn’t want to offer new terms to him, then they will have to listen to offers this summer. One year on his contract surely weakens Die Roten’s hand in negotiations, so it could be a cut-price deal. However, his departure will raise funds for transfers in another department.
Even if Sule leaves in the summer, the German club will be having four center-back options in the squad. Benjamin Pavard could act as the fourth center-back, while Nianzou Kouassi, Lucas Hernandez, and Dayot Upamecano will be primary central defenders in the squad.
Another possible scenario could be Rummenigge counting Javi Martinez as a defender. The Spaniard has filled in this position on numerous occasions. He is also going to leave Bavaria after nine years when his contract expires in June. Regardless of comments from Rummenigge, one thing is certain that there will be a new first-choice center-back pairing for Bayern on the first matchday of next season.