It has been far from the ideal winter transfer window for Bayern Munich. The Bavarian club had to dip into the market since they lacked numbers in defense. Bayern have already signed Eric Dier to strengthen central defense, but the England international was not their first choice option.
The record Bundesliga champions made a last-ditch attempt to sign Radu Dragusin from Genoa. The Romanian defender rejected a move to Munich in favour of a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. Die Roten had Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo as their primary target to improve defense, but the Spanish club was not selling the Uruguayan defender midway through the season.
Eventually, Bayern had to settle for Eric Dier. The English defender has signed a deal for six months with an option to extend it by a year. It is a stop-gap transfer until Bayern get the chance to properly address this position in the summer.
Die Roten are also following the same route for the right-back position. They are currently targeting Newcastle United’s Kieran Tripper. While speaking to Sky Sports in Germany (via iMiaSanMia), former Bayern defender Lothar Matthaus criticized Die Roten’s transfer policy of signing older players in the winter transfer window.
"“That’s not Bayern Munich for me. Bayern should focus on signing young players. They have very good youth players like Aleksandar Pavlovic, so they can use them regularly. Bayern have been very unprepared in the transfer window which is unlike their title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.”"Lothar Matthaus
Trippier has been one of the best right-backs in the Premier League, but he is already 33. He cannot be a long-term option for the Bavarian club. Matthaus’ concerns over the transfer policy are justified since it doesn’t fit with the club’s motive of building long-term without compromising success in the present.
Bayern also have a strong argument in favour of their transfer policy. They managed to add a good amount of experience and quality in the summer. Even though Harry Kane is 30, he has managed to improve Die Roten in the final third this season, scoring 26 goals across all competitions.
They also have a good group of players who are at the peak of their careers. Bayern need to complement this group with younger and more experienced star players to maintain a fine balance. If the likes of Dier and Trippier end up contributing to Bayern’s push for Bundesliga and Champions League titles this season, the club chiefs will be pleased with their business in January.
With Bayern falling further behind in the title race after the weekend’s 1-0 defeat against Werder Bremen, there will be more criticism aimed at Tuchel and the club’s transfer decisions. Tuchel will need a strong reaction from his squad when they face Union Berlin on Wednesday.