It has been a busy winter transfer window for Bayern Munich. They have been chasing several players to strengthen their defense since they were short in numbers after a poor end to the summer window. Bayern have managed to make two defensive signings until now.
In terms of departures, Die Roten have resisted approaches from other clubs in their key players. Joshua Kimmich was subject to interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United. PSG also inquired about Matthijs de Ligt, but Bayern had no plans to sell the Dutch defender in January.
Frans Kratzig was also subject to interest from Standard Liege. The Belgian club wanted to sign the young defender on loan until the end of the season. Despite the early interest, the move to Standard Liege never materialised for Kratzig.
According to Sky Sports in Germany (via iMiaSanMia), Kratzig will stay at Bayern until the end of the season. The youngster will continue to train with the first team. He will assess his future at Bayern in the summer. Kratzig will most likely go out on loan in the summer to get consistent playing time after making his senior debut for Bayern this season.
Kratzig has made five appearances for Bayern in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season. All of those five appearances have come off the bench. The youngster has managed to get only 57 minutes of game time in these five appearances.
Considering the presence of Alphonso Davies and Raphael Guerreiro in the squad, Kratzig will find it very difficult to get meaningful game time during the second half of the season. In the midfield and attacking positions, there are too many players ahead of him in the pecking order. However, training with the senior squad this season will be a great learning curve for him.
Bayern extended Kratzig’s contract until 2027 in October. The Bavarian club rates him highly, so the next natural step in his development will be a loan move. A loan spell with a Bundesliga club where he will play every weekend will be the perfect opportunity for Kratzig in the summer. For now, he will train with the first team and get playing time with the reserves team during Ruckrunde.
In terms of incomings, Bayern are not yet done in the winter transfer window. The Bavarian club is looking to bring Bryan Zaragoza before deadline day after Kingsley Coman suffered a serious injury against Augsburg. Zaragoza was previously joining Bayern in the summer after the fee was agreed with Granada in December.