Mario Götze's uncertain future mirrors that of Bayern Munich itself

With each passing day, the future of Mario Götze gets murkier and murkier. From assertions from the Bayern board that Götze would be a critical part of this team last summer to his notable absence from Bayern's massive core extension policy this season, there has been an almost inexorable march towards Mario Götze leaving this summer.

The reports of conversations between incoming head coach Carlo Ancelotti and Götze have dumped fuel on the fires of speculation and in a broader context only increased the murkiness around a player who just two seasons ago was seen as the future of German football. Götze himself has noted that the rumored conversations did take place, but was as expected exceptionally vague on their content.

But these conversations do not take place in a vaccum.

They take place amongst a team that is swirling in the chaos of reloading. The days of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are passing. Bastian Schweinsteiger has already left. Bayern Munich's aging core has been re-loaded with talents like Douglas Costa, Kingsley Coman, and Renato Sanches.

The summer additions of Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches are already in the bag, Bayern Munich are neck deep in an overabundance of players. The addition of those two gives Bayern Munich a number of 23. But this is not the 23 players of your average team. This is 23 first-choice players hand assembled by Pep Guardiola and Matthias Sammer. These are plug-and-play depth to combat any injury or tactical requirement. They are the kind of players who can walk into most starting lineups in world football and garner 40 or more appearances.

And for all his genius and reputation, Carlo Ancelotti is not Pep Guardiola. He does not carry a massive squad. Even at Real Madrid where he had all the money one could buy he carried just 19 truly first-choice players and won La Decima. The rest he fielded were pure depth or development projects. Add in the depth of Bayern Munich's pool of loanees and talented youngsters and Bayern have a squad well in excess of 30 players.

Something likely has to give for Bayern Munich this summer. Mario Götze may not have a place at this team but the odds are also equally high that many other pieces are also on their way out. Whether it's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Mario Götze, Sebastian Rode, Medhi Bentia or more critical pieces like Arjen Robben, Thiago Alcantara, or perhaps even David Alaba, Bayern Munich's summer is just as murky as Mario Götze's future.

It's likely that the choices made this off season will have ramifications for year. This is a time of transition at a time when Borussia Dortmund has fully reloaded themselves and are breathing down Bayern's neck. There is no wiggle room for Matthias Sammer and the Bayern Munich front office and taking the time to do their diligence is needed. And that comes with uncertainty.