Bayern Munich: Lars Lukas Mai completes loan move to Werder Bremen

With the German transfer window officially opening on July 1 and players beginning to return for pre-season, clubs will start sorting few transfers. Bayern Munich has also sorted one transfer this week as young defender Lars Lukas Mai has left the club for a loan move.

The German Champions confirmed on Thursday that Mai will be playing at Werder Bremen next season. Hasan Salihamidzic confirmed that a loan move to Bremen is the next step in the development of Mai.

Lukas Mai had spent last year on loan at Darmstadt in the second division of Germany. He featured in almost every league game and got much-needed experience of playing at the senior level. The next campaign will be also in 2. Bundesliga, but with a team that will be pushing to get back in the Bundesliga.

During the summer, Lukas Mai was part of the German team that clinched the U-21 Euros. After getting a good break, the young defender and Die Roten have wasted little time to sort his future. He will be able to get the entire pre-season training with Bremen, which bodes well for the next season.

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Mai made his debut for the first team three seasons ago, but the chances of consistent playing time at Rekordmeister were getting slimmer with every passing year. He heavily featured in the reserves team before making the decision to join Darmstadt on a loan deal.

Another loan move for Lukas Mai was always on the horizon since Die Roten is well stacked in the center-back positions. David Alaba and Jerome Boateng have left the club, but Dayot Upamecano has arrived from RB Leipzig. Nianzou Kouassi is also likely to play a big role in the first team. In such a scenario, Mai would have been reduced to playing time in the reserves team if he had stayed in Bavaria.

Apart from Mai, Die Roten also has to decide on the immediate future of Chris Richards. The U.S international enjoyed a productive second half of the season at Hoffenheim. Richards will report for pre-season next week. It will be a big surprise if he stays at Die Roten next season unless Niklas Sule leaves Bavaria this summer.

Meanwhile, Rekordmeister has also confirmed that Josip Stanisic has signed a professional contract at the club. The promising talent will be staying at the club at least until 2023. Salihamidzic admitted that Stanisic had taken another step in his development by signing this deal after improving steadily at the club in the last four years.