Bayern Munich decide against signing Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Matthijs de Ligt and Kim Min-jae will be playing their third consecutive game together for Bayern Munich on Saturday. Thomas Tuchel currently doesn’t have the luxury of rotating central defenders despite having so many games in a short space of time. There are only two fit central defenders in the squad since Dayot Upamecano is recovering from a muscle injury.
Considering how many games Bayern have to play before the start of the winter transfer window in January, Bayern contemplated the signing of Jerome Boateng. The Bavarian club allowed the German defender to train at Sabner Strasse but eventually didn’t offer him a deal due to off-field problems with the player.
Apart from Boateng, former Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos was also a candidate for emergency signing to provide more cover in the central defense. The Greek defender has been a free agent since his contract expired at Olympiacos in the summer.
According to Bild (via iMiaSanMia), Bayern briefly considered signing Papastathopoulos but eventually decided against offering him a contract. The experienced Greek defender was hopeful about the move to Munich. He is now expected to complete a move to Real Betis.
Bayern are planning to continue with the current squad until the winter break. The Bavarian club is expected to be busy in January. They find themselves in the current situation after failing to replace Benjamin Pavard in the summer. Bayern will look to get a versatile defender that can fill the void left by Pavard.
Dayot Upamecano expected to be back in two weeks
Thomas Tuchel will have three senior central defenders fit by the second week of November. Dayot Upamecano was spotted training with the ball at Sabner Strasse this week. As per Bild, the French defender is still a couple of weeks away from making a return to the matchday squad. Bayern want him to give ample amount of time to complete the recovery process and be at his best from a fitness point of view in November.
Tarek Buchmann is also expected to resume first-team training in the coming weeks. The 18-year-old defender from the academy is rated highly at Bayern. He is set to train with the first team throughout the season. The youngster may get game time since there are few options in central defense.
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Meanwhile, Raphael Guerreiro is close to making his return for Bayern after recovering from a thigh strain. The Portuguese full-back is expected to be fit for next week’s DFB Pokal game against Saarbrucken.