Bayern Munich II have just lost their Lewandowski

Tough times lie ahead for Bayern Munich II. The club has decided to let two key players — Kwasi Wriedt and Derrick Köhn — depart for Willem II in the Eredivisie at the end of the summer. The players’ contracts were set to expire , and it’s unlikely that management could’ve prevented them from leaving for the Netherlands and the promise of top-flight football.

The transfers were confirmed by the official Willem II twitter account:

It’s a good move for both players, who’ve proved themselves beyond a doubt in the 3.Liga for Bayern, but it’s potentially catastrophic for reserves’ chances of staying in the 3rd division. Bayern II are currently in 15th place with 26 points and 42 goals scored. Wriedt played in 20 of those games and scored 13 out of 39 — 33% of all goals were scored by him when he was on on the pitch.

For comparison, Robert Lewandowski, on whom some argue Bayern rely too heavily to score, has contributed 38% of Bayern’s goals in the league this season. How will Bayern II stay in the 3.Liga without Wriedt’s consistent goals? Players like Joshua Zirkzee, Sarpreet Singh, and Oliver Batista Meier are all candidates to pick up the slack, but none of them match Wriedt’s raw consistency.

Köhn’s departure isn’t helpful either, as the reserves don’t have a settled backup for him. Both Chris Richards and Josip Stanisic have been stand-ins for the German, but not for any significant length of time.

It was always going to be a tough ask for Bayern II to stay in the 3.Liga, given how young the squad is, and that job just got harder. However, the fact that Bayern has managed to develop talents that interest top division teams in Europe is a sign that the youth campus is doing its job.

Side note: Willem II are called Willem II despite being the only Willem in the Eredivise. Makes you wonder what their reserve team is called, doesn’t it? Looking it up, it’s apparently called Jong Willem II, with Jong being Dutch for “youth”. Let’s put it to a vote!