Over the summer, Bayern Munich acquired the likes of Tom Bischof and Jonathan Tah on free transfers from Hoffenheim and Leverkusen. After two free transfers, Bayern completed a marquee signing of Luiz Diaz for €75 million from Liverpool. They rounded off the summer with the loan acquisition of Nicolas Jackson from Chelsea for €16.50 million.
Despite the four signings, the transfer window was disappointing for Die Roten. Compared to acquisitions, there were 17 departures from the first team and the reserves team. Although 17-year-old attacking sensation Lennart Karl was promoted to the senior squad, based on the current situation with long-term injuries, the squad is still thin and short of experienced personnel.
Bayern managed to achieve a surplus of €10.15 million in transfer activity. However, in terms of the overall picture, and in light of how the team was decimated by injuries during the business end of last season, that figure is neither here nor there. Having said that, let’s try and dig deeper into why the Bayern chiefs failed to make a bigger splash in terms of player acquisitions over the summer.
Financial prudence took precedence over player acquisitions
Luis Diaz might have been the marquee summer signing, but it’s no secret that he wasn’t the first, second, or even the third choice option to bolster the attacking department. In reality, after failing to land the likes of Florian Wirtz, Nico Williams, and Bradley Barcola, the 28-year-old Colombian was acquired out of necessity. His price tag of €75 million has made him a polarizing figure.
However, the Bayern bosses weren’t inclined to seemingly overpay for two players in the same window, and as a result missed out on Nick Woltemade. Bayern refused to pay Stuttgart €75 million for the 23-year-old German forward, who eventually made the move to Newcastle United for a club-record fee of €90 million.
Bayern brought the curtain down on the transfer window with the one-year loan of Nicolas Jackson, which includes an obligation to purchase outright for €65 million should the player hit certain targets over the course of the season. Jackson could very well be just a stopgap option. Uli Hoeness recently stated that the obligation to purchase would only be triggered if Jackson starts 40 games.