Moments ago, Bayern Munich officially announced its newest signing: Leon Dajaku has joined the Bavarians from VfB Stuttgart, signing a contract through June 2023. Dajaku is a serious prospect: he had joined Stuttgart in 2014 and had even played twice in the top flight. He scored 17 goals in 31 games for Stuttgart’s U-19 team, and has even played a total of 17 times for Germany’s junior national teams. Dajaku said,
I’m very happy to be able to play for FC Bayern in the future and want to do my part to make the season successful.
The move for Dajaku is directly related to Bayern II’s promotion last season to the 3.Liga, the third tier of the Bundesliga and the lowest professional level. Dajaku was under contract with Stuttgart through 2022, but Stuttgart honored his request to leave and accepted a transfer fee of €1.5 million for the budding striker.
Stuttgart’s sporting director, Sven Mislintant (formerly of Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal), stated,
After intensive discussions with Leon and FC Bayern, we decided to grant Leon’s wish and agree to the transfer. We wish Leon all the best for the future.
Dajaku’s agent, former Germany national team player Kevin Kuranyi, gave more insight into his client’s rationale for joining Bayern (kicker):
FC Bayern has been interested in Leon for a long time. Contact was never broken off. At VfB, he was just sent to the second team, so to the fifth league.
It is a rule in Germany that the second team of any professional team must play two tiers lower. Hence, Bayern II can only ever rise to the 3. Liga; at best, Stuttgart’s second team could play in the Regionalliga Südwest. But Stuttgart II was relegated to the 5.Liga last season with a 15th-place finish, mirroring the first-team’s relegation to the 2.Liga.
Given the choice between lacing up for the “Oberliga Baden-Württemberg” or the 3.Liga, “it’s totally logical that Leon sees better prospects in Munich in playing in the 3.Liga and regular training sessions with the pros,” Kuranyi explained. He added,
The 5. Liga is definitely not optimal for the development of top talents. They see things the same way at VfB itself. And they acted accordingly, as for example in the case of Eric Hottman [19], who was loaned to Sonnenhof Großaspach [i.e. also in the 3.Liga].
It is no coincidence that Bayern has redoubled its efforts recently to bring top talents like Dajaku and other youngsters to the FC Bayern Campus: not only could one of them become the next David Alaba or Thomas Müller, but their quality also can help ensure that Bayern II is never relegated to the Regionalliga Bayern again, keeping it an attractive destination for players like Dajaku who want to take the next step in their professional careers. The two goals go hand in hand.