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According to reports out of both Germany and England, Bayern Munich are one of what seems like a hundred teams that have expressed some level of interest in Hoffenheim forward Kevin Volland. A winter move is likely out of the question, but something could materialize in the summer for the interested parties.
Here's a list of the club's interested in Volland according to the Mirror and Merkur Online reports: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Bayer Leverkusen, Hannover, Wolfsburg, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Manchester United. It's basically a "Who's Who" of German and English clubs. Of course, the best way to sell papers and get web traffic is to write a story about a big club in your country and transfer rumors.
Though, should we consider Volland a legit transfer target for Bayern? Why not? While Robert Lewandowski should be and is the top transfer target for Bayern for next summer, if that deal were to fall apart, Volland wouldn't be the worst "back up plan". He's similar to Lewandowski in that he could play several different positions across the front with the ability to shoot from distance or out-leap you for a header in the box, but Lewandowski clearly has the edge in playing in bigger games.
However, Volland is further along in his development at this point in his life. When Lewandowski was 21, he was still in the Polish Ekstraklasa for Lech Poznan. With 18 games left in this Bundesliga season, Volland has already surpassed his goal total from all of last season. There's still a very good chance that he may for Jogi Löw to strongly consider taking him to the World Cup ahead of other candidates.
What are the chances that Volland is wearing a Bayern shirt next season? I don't necessarily think they're too high. Transfermarkt puts them around 18% which is fair. I think it's far more likely that Volland is one that replaces Lewandowski in Dortmund. However, we must keep in mind that Volland's contract with Hoffenheim runs through 2017.
What do you think if the Lewandowski deal falls apart? Is Volland a player that Bayern should consider if he continues on his current trajectory?
