Bayern Munich ready to listen offers for Chris Richards
The upcoming transfer window will be crucial for Bayern Munich in terms of departures and arrivals. The defending German champions will have to sell well to make space for new signings. The financial situation at the club remains far from ideal due to the pandemic, so raising funds from sales is critical.
Chris Richards is one of the few players that can help Die Roten when it comes to raising funds for new signings. The young defender is currently enjoying a productive loan spell at Hoffenheim for the second consecutive season. His current deal in Bavaria is set to expire in June 2025.
According to SportBild (via iMiaSanMia), Bayern will be open to listening offers for Richards in the summer window. The Bavarian club is looking to get €10-15 million for the young defender. Hoffenheim has shown great faith in the young defender, so it will not be a huge surprise if they try to make his loan move permanent when the window opens at the end of the season.
After making a few first-team appearances at Bayern in the first half of the 2020/21 season, Richards moved to Hoffenheim for Ruckrunde. It was a very productive deal for all parties, so Hoffenheim once again loaned Richards during the last summer transfer window.
Bayern are hoping to get €10-15m for Chris Richards [@SPORTBILD] pic.twitter.com/UkLJUwar9D
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) March 8, 2022
Richards has made 16 appearances for Hoffenheim this season. He is likely to end the season with more than 20 appearances, which suggests that Hoffenheim has immense faith in him. His impressive performances at Hoffenheim could trigger a bidding war in the summer as other Bundesliga clubs will come into the picture. Leicester City had reportedly shown interest in him last summer, so there could be a decent number of clubs in the race to sign him.
The chances of getting consistent playing time for Richards at Bayern are very slim. There are numerous senior central defenders at the club. The Bavarian club is also looking to sign a new central defender in the summer to replace Niklas Sule. Richards will be better served by getting a move away from Bavaria to continue his development.
Bayern should try to include a buy-back option in the deal for Chris Richards. The young US international has shown a lot of promise in the past 18 months, so he has the potential to become a top center-back. A buy-back or first refusal will definitely give Die Roten some sort of say in Richards’ long-term future.
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Apart from Chris Richards, Joshua Zirkzee is another young player that can help Die Roten in raising funds for the summer arrivals. The Dutch striker is having a sensational loan spell at Anderlecht. The Belgian club wants to retain him, while West Ham has also shown interest. Zirkzee hopes to get chances at Die Roten, but he may not get consistent playing time in Bavaria.