Despite consistently promising a quiet winter window, Bayern Munich has been forced to look for players in January due to injury problems. The Bavarian club completed a shock deal for former Ajax defender Daley Blind. The Dutch defender joins on a six-month deal to provide cover in the left-back and center-back positions.
The Bavarian club will now turn their attention to signing a goalkeeper in the coming days. Since Manuel Neuer has been ruled out for the rest of the season, Bayern wants to sign a new number one for the second half of the season. Die Roten wanted to recall Alexander Nubel from his loan spell at Monaco, but they are struggling to find an agreement with the French club. The other option for this role is Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer.
Along with adding new players for Ruckrunde, Bayern could also reveal plans for the summer transfer window later in January. According to Kicker, Die Roten may announce the pre-contract agreement with Konrad Laimer later this month.
It was revealed by one German media outlet in December that Bayern had reached a verbal agreement for the terms of a contract with Laimer. As Laimer entered the final six months of his contract at RB Leipzig, he was free to negotiate with interested clubs during January. Bayern has won the race ahead of the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool for his signature.
Bayern tried hard to sign Konrad Laimer from Leipzig in the last summer transfer window. However, Leipzig was in no mood to sell him despite the prospect of losing him for nothing in 12 months. Die Roten had three bids rejected for the Austrian midfielder in the summer.
The Bavarian club had agreed personal terms with Laimer in the summer, so they were favourites to sign him on a free transfer. However, the interest from Premier League was a cause for concern. Eventually, Hasan Salihamidzic and Julian Nagelsmann managed to convince him to join Bayern.
It is not the first time Die Roten has announced free transfers six months before the deal was enacted. Robert Lewandowski, Leon Goretzka, Sebastian Rudy, and Alexander Nubel are the high-profile players that reached a pre-contract agreement with Bayern in January. Konrad Laimer will be eager to get the announcement out of the way to concentrate on the rest of the season with Leipzig.
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As Bayern chiefs look for a new goalkeeper in the market, the first team begins preparation for Ruckrunde. After a few training sessions at Sabner Strasse this week, the first team will fly to Doha on Friday for a winter camp. Bayern will also play a friendly against RB Salzburg after returning from Doha. The Bundesliga campaign for Die Roten will resume on January 20 against RB Leipzig.