There are some random transfer rumors floating around the world right now, and as you would have guessed, several of them involved your reigning and defending champions of the world FC Bayern Munich. Let's take a look at a few of them buzzing around today..
Julian Draxler
There's been a lot of talk of Julian Draxler joining FC Bayern ever since his proposed winter deal to Arsenal fell through. Yes, most of that chatter did come from one person. Jan Aage Fjortoft, a former Norwegian international and current Sky Germany pundit, was a driving force on the "Draxler to Bayern" rumors. In fact, just recently he had more to say on the topic.
Re: Draxler I understand Bayern will try to make a deal with Schalke where they pay part of fee now, but Draxler will come to Bayern 2015
— Jan Aage Fjortoft (@JanAageFjortoft) March 17, 2014
Re: Draxler I have been told that Arsenal felt they "lost" player when Bayern entered the stage. But I understand player hasn't decided yet
— Jan Aage Fjortoft (@JanAageFjortoft) March 17, 2014
So, what can we make of all this information? Julian Draxler is definitely a player that may or may not be playing at Bayern Munich sometime in the near future.
Draxler is a very good player that should only be a serious option if Toni Kroos is 100% not returning to Munich. His reported contract buyout of >€40m is ludicrously high to spend on Draxler if Kroos is staying in Munich.
HOWEVER, I could see Bayern shelling out the cash to bring Draxler to the Allianz Arena if the following two players leave the club.
Mario Mandzukic
There are about 20 to 1,000,000 different stories floating around the English press at the moment about Mario Mandzukic leaving Bayern in the summer for about five different teams. You can see why they would want him. The Croatian has 23 goals in 28 starts in all competitions and is currently the leading scorer in the Bundesliga with 17 goals.
We've been hearing that Mandzu is interested in leaving for months now. However, we've also heard directly from Bayern that they will be looking to extend him past his current contract. I don't see any way that Bayern even consider selling Mario this summer unless he specifically states that he wants to leave, and even then, I believe that they'll try to convince him that FC Bayern is where he should be and wants to be.
Xherdan Shaqiri
While he's been linked with full transfers to various teams over the last several months, nobody is really quite sure what's going to happen with Xherdan Shaqiri. There are three options for Shaqiri heading into next season.
The first is that he stays at Bayern and continues his roll as a substitute and spot starter. He has 5 goals in 8 league starts and has made 24 appearances in all competitions this season. He's only 22, so perhaps it's not the worst thing in the world for Shaqiri to continue growing as a player while learning from great players like Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
The second option is a full transfer. He's been linked with potential moves to Liverpool and others and could fetch FC Bayern a nice transfer fee if sold. While Bayern paid a little north of €11m for Shaqiri, the rumors last summer was that teams were willing to offer as much as €20 million for the Swiss international. If the offer is right for both club and player, it would not be too shocking for Shaqiri to leave the club.
The third and final option is one that appeals to me more than a transfer away from the club. Of course, I'm talking about a loan for a season to get more playing time. The most recent report had Borussia Mönchengladbach being interested in bringing Shaqiri to Borussia Park for a year as a replacement for Juan Arango. In Gladbach, Shaqiri would be reuniting with former FC Basel teammates Granit Xhaka and Yann Sommer.
I don't want Shaqiri to leave the club, but if he and the club feel that his development is better off served with a loan, I am okay with that.