The summer transfer window for the Bundesliga officially closes on September 2nd. Despite having already signed Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard, and Feite Arp, Bayern Munich’s pursuit of Manchester City’s Leroy Sané took a turn for the worse when he suffered an ACL injury in the Community Shield match against Liverpool. Bayern still have not signed a “plan b” for Sane despite being linked with a handful of wingers across Europe.
In his column on t-online (via SportBild), former Bayern player turned pundit Stefan Effenberg argued that Bayern has not done enough in the transfer window and lacks the depth to compete for a Champions League title. Specifically, Effenberg feels that the club has not added quality in the vacancies left by the departures of both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, as well as James Rodriguez:
At present, FC Bayern has not reinforced itself in my eyes. Quality has bene lost, that they have not yet been able to compensate. You at least have to maintain your present level. And precisely that is not what I see.
With only 17 outfield players, Effenberg emphasized, Bayern’s squad “is much too thin,”
And not only in respect to the competitions ahead, but rather especially with respect to training. When you conduct training and playing drills, you need 20 to 22 players at the highest level — and then a few promising talents in addition. To balance the books, at least five experienced players are lacking.
That problem could still be solved, at least partially, in what remains of the transfer window. But Effenberg feels that Bayern does not have the same appeal to prospective transfer targets. He said,
It’s simply no longer the case that FC Bayern calls — and the players immediately come. The competition is totally different today, especially with respect to the wages offered in England, and in some cases also in Spain, Italy, or France. FC Bayern no longer can take whoever they need out of the pot.
It’s also still up in the air as to whether or not Bayern will complete the signing of Leroy Sané even though he’ll be sidelined for a good 6-7 months by his ACL injury. Opinions are split over whether Sané would still be worth buying at this point, but Effenberg is in the camp that thinks it would be best for the winger to stay in Manchester:
Singing Leroy Sané makes sense neither for Bayern nor for Sané. I would advise Sané to stay in Manchester, where he knows the doctors, processes, and environs inside and out. Instead of FC Bayern, Sané should think about the Euro 2020.