Report: No agreement yet between Dortmund and Bayern for Mats Hummels

Bild has previously reported that Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund had agreed on terms for Mats Hummels to return to Dortmund on a three-year deal worth around €20 million plus performance-based add-ons. Both kicker and SPIEGEL are now reporting that Bayern have not yet agreed on a fee for the center back, and SPIEGEL even suggests that talks between the two clubs have not yet even taken place.

Both reports also indicate that Niko Kovac has not yet commented on the matter, contrary to Bild’s claim that Kovac had already approved the move. Both reports say that Bayern would want more than €20 million for Hummels, and they speculate that Dortmund might not be willing to pay much more than that to get him. While the two reports slightly vary in detail, both affirm that no agreement has been made between the two clubs, disputing what both Bild and Sky had reported.

Bayern’s contract with Hummels runs through the summer of 2021, which gives Bayern some leverage in terms of asking Dortmund for a higher fee. Additionally, kicker officially recognized Hummels as the best-performing center-back of the Rückrunde, lending some credence to the quality that Hummels showed in the second half of the season.

Dortmund, however, could easily argue that the center-back is already 30 years old and might not have more than three or four seasons left in the top flight, in the hope of negotiating a lower price than what Bayern ultimately asks.

BFW Analysis

There are still a lot of holes in the Hummels transfer saga, and conflicting reports have been circulating since the potential move was revealed. At this point in time, it seems as if this is more of an issue of negotiating the right price and terms between all parties involved. Bayern likely won’t settle for anything less than €30 million for the best center-back of the past season’s Rückrunde, but that’s not much less than what they paid Dortmund back in 2016, when they brought Hummels to Bayern for €35 million. It will really all come down to how much the clubs are willing to budge on the fee, but Bayern currently has the upper hand in negotiating.

If Hummels ultimately leaves, it will also be interesting to see whether Bayern keep hold of Jerome Boateng, who has strongly been linked with a move away from Munich this summer. He got significantly less time than he wanted this season, and even Uli Hoeness stated that Boateng should leave Bayern, where he would have to compete for time with Niklas Süle, Lucas Hernandez, and Benjamin Pavard next season.

The worst case scenario for Bayern would be that both Hummels and Boateng leave without a replacement, since the bench for central defenders would suddenly become thin if one of Süle, Hernandez, or Pavard were to go down with a significant injury problem at any point during the season.

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