Bayern Munich have made major moves in the last two months to renew contracts with key players. Dayot Upamecano signed a new deal amid speculation about his future, while Serge Gnabry was offered an extension following strong performances under Vincent Kompany this season.
The Bavarian club still has more work to do regarding contract renewals, as Harry Kane and Konrad Laimer have 15 months left on their contract. Both players are eager to stay in Munich.
Die Roten have initiated talks with Harry Kane. The English forward feels comfortable in Munich as the team gives him the platform for individual and collective honours. It is a matter of finding an agreement over the financial terms with Kane. The 32-year-old is expected to get a pay rise even though he is currently one of the big earners in the squad.
Meanwhile, negotiations with Konrad Laimer will not be straightforward. As previously reported in the German media, talks have hit an impasse between Laimer and Bayern due to a disagreement over wages. Despite the impasse in talks, Laimer is not thinking about a summer transfer away from Munich.
According to Sky Sports journalist Kerry Hau (via iMiaSanMia), Konrad Laimer is not talking to other clubs regarding a summer transfer. The Austrian is in no rush to make a decision over his future at Bayern. He remains focused on ending the season with multiple silverware and then excelling for Austria in the World Cup.
As things stand, Bayern will face another scenario where a key player will enter the final year of the current contract.
Bayern still needs to improve with the timing of contract negotiations
The Bavarian club has successfully negotiated contracts for several key players in the last 12 months. However, they had to pay big wages and signing-on bonuses to conclude these negotiations. The expensive renewals have been largely due to the timing of the contract negotiations.
Bayern have weakened their hand in negotiations by allowing players to enter the final year of their existing deals. This gives them very little leverage while discussing the financial terms of the new contract. Players can either leave on a free transfer or get a lucrative deal at Bayern, which is a win-win situation for them.
From Bayern’s perspective, they have to be proactive when it comes to negotiating contracts. In an ideal scenario, they should have started negotiations with Laimer last season when he was excelling under Kompany. This would have given them room to negotiate a better deal.