Major Bayern roster overhaul could be coming

According to SportBild, Jerome Boateng, Thiago Alcantara, Arturo Vidal and Juan Bernat could all be shipped out this summer by Bayern Munich. Some of these moves have been talked about for a few months and some of them make sense. One glaring, potential transfer does not, however.

Boateng has had a rough go of it lately from an injury standpoint. This history of being out for various medical reasons led Bayern to buy Niklas Süle, who has performed admirably in Boa’s stead and has possibly paved Boa’s way out of Munich. Boateng is not terribly long in the tooth, but he is on the wrong side of 30. This one makes sense for all parties involved.

Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images

Vidal has been, for lack of a better word, a beast in the midfield for Bayern. His effort and willingness to get physical has led to amazing performances, as well as a bit of a reputation with the referees which has earned a good amount of bookings. However, it is his off-the-field antics that could make the Bayern brass more amenable to a transfer rather than to extend his contract which ends in 2019.

Bernat has been a workhorse for the minutes he has been on the field, but he is understandably dissatisfied with this lack of playing time. He’s still young and has plenty of good years ahead of him; they just won’t be at Bayern. Again, this transfer makes sense.

And then we come to Thiago. This season hasn’t been the best for him by his lofty standards, but if that is the measuring stick that is being used to determine a players place on the roster, there many more players who would be receiving their walking papers. For several transfer windows, there have been rumors swirling about his potential move to Barcelona. That, combined with his place on the Spanish national team, seem to be the only real concrete evidence that he wants out of Munich. For Bayern AND for Thiago, a move away from Säbener Strasse makes no sense.