In a recent interview with kicker, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp expressed his doubt over Bayern Munich’s continued reign at the top of the Bundesliga, identifying RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen as potential challengers. Klopp’s main concern with the Bavarians? Age.
The Bavarians are a top club, but the time of the generational change is imminent. Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and many others can not do it all.
As Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery reach the twilight of their careers Klopp has voiced the concerns of many Bayern fans, especially in light of European competitors shelling out massive transfer fees for the likes of Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo. There is an increasing fear that the Bundesliga and Die Roten may be left behind.
Bayern president Uli Hoeness, however, does not share this concern. Although he has indicated a desire to continue his shrewd business dealings along with promoting youth talent, he has not ruled out breaking the Rekordmeister’s rather modest transfer record set last summer on midfield dynamo Corentin Tolisso.
In an interview with Sky Germany (via Sport1), Hoeness divulged that a major transfer may be considered for the summer of 2019.
We are collecting a bit of money at the moment in case we have to buy a bit bigger next year.
So who is on the minds of the Bayern brass? According to Bild (via sport.de), Paulo Dybala and Antoine Griezmann are at the top of the list.
Each is a player of the highest caliber and each would demand an astronomical fee. Whether the bosses in Bavaria would sanction a move that would absolutely decimate their previous record of €41.5M seems unlikely. If reports are to be believed, the fact that the Bavarian giants are even considering such a move may come as a relief to some fans.
Regardless of who the target ends of being, with consistent links to Christian Pulisic, Leon Bailey, Julian Brandt and Timo Werner, alongside world class talents such as Dybala and Griezmann, it seems inevitable that Hoeness and Co. will spend big sooner rather than later.
Who do you think Bayern should splash the cash for next summer?