Sport1: Bayern Munich’s “Summer of 2020” spree could see Schalke’s Alexander Nübel join Timo Werner, Leroy Sane, and Kai Havertz

Sport1 has expanded on its report earlier in the week regarding Bayern Munich’s interest in Bayer Leverkusen starlet Kai Havertz. Previously, it was speculated that Bayern Munich would have its eyes on three German stars to showcase next summer: Havertz, RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner, and injured Manchester City winger Leroy Sané.

Now, however, Sport1 has added Schalke 04 goalkeeper Alexander Nübel to the list. Earlier this summer both Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig expressed interest in the talented 22-year-old Germany youth international:

In the case of Nübel, a transfer is coming together next summer. The U-21 national goalkeeper of new [Schalke] coach David Wagner was surprisingly named Schalke’s captain this season. However, that will probably not change the fact that the 22-year-old will not renew his contract with Royal Blues.

As Sport1 has exclusively reported, Bayern has had him on their list for months and want to mold him over the long term in Munich as Manuel Neuer’s successor. When Nübel will decide on his future is not clear. The fact is that he is being courted by several top European clubs. Schalke, however, absolutely wants to keep him and prevent him from leaving on a free transfer in a year.

Despite being flattered with the role of captain, it would appear that Nübel is likely headed for an exit from Gelsenkirchen and Schalke knows it. Die Königsblauen made the strategic acquisition of Markus Schubert, a highly-acclaimed 21-year-old Germany youth international in June. Schubert, who was being pursued by Arsenal before Schalke stepped in, is widely considered as the contingency plan should Nübel depart the club.

Nübel has been vague about his future. That likely does not give Schalke much confidence in its ability to extend the youngster’s contract. Per typical Bayern Munich strategy, Nübel’s transfer next summer would be free of charge.

As far as the other players go, Sport1 echoed what most already know:

• Kai Havertz: Havertz plans to move on from Die Werkself next summer, but it is not certain to which power club he will go to. Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are still on the outside looking in, while Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool are all in the mix. Bayern’s chances are “good” according to Sport1, but the Bavarians would not consider both buying Havertz and Philippe Coutinho when his loan ends next summer. It would be a question of one or the other. Havertz would be seen as the long-term replacement for Thomas Müller. I guess we can add him to this ever-growing list.

• Timo Werner: Bayern Munich and Werner’s agent were in contact, but nothing has progressed as the Bavarians focused on recruiting Sané. There are still doubts in Munich as to Werner’s quality (including some expressed by sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic), but Bayern is still expected to pursue a free transfer next summer.

• Leroy Sane: Despite his ACL injury, Bayern Munich is still plotting a move for 23-year-old Germany international, which could happen in the winter transfer window or next summer. It is clear that if Sané wants to make the move, Bayern is willing to pay the price to facilitate a transfer.

BFW Analysis

As always, Bavarian Football Works was ahead of the curve in examining how big next summer could be for Bayern Munich. On Monday, we theorized the direction things were heading based on recent events, and now it looks like Bayern Munich’s long-range squad planning could have a defined pathway.

Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images

While Sport1 refers to Bayern Munich’s potential squad evolution as “Mission 2020”, we have coined the roster revival as “Project Bavarian Mayhem: 2020.” Regardless of which title you prefer, all signs are pointing to Bayern Munich making a huge splash in next summer’s transfer window.

Simply put, a move for any one of the four German stars would be a huge transaction, but potentially getting all four in the same window — for €200 million or less — would be a complete and utter coup. Heck, people may even consider erecting a statue of Brazzo should the club be able to pull off such a heist.

Oh well, it looks like we are going to have to update this graphic as well: