Hasan Salihamidzic criticizes Hansi Flick for commenting on Bayern Munich transfers

For most clubs, the winter training camp is an uneventful couple of weeks. For Bayern Munich, it threatens to become a full-on circus. After Hansi Flick practically begged for reinforcements in the media yesterday, Sporting Director Hasan Salihamidzic has come out and criticized the coach for his comments.

Despite the fact that players are dropping like flies, Brazzo claims to have been surprised by Flick’s outspoken statements (via Bild):

I was surprised by this media-driven roster-planning by Hansi yesterday. You have to understand that. I was surprised.

While he was indeed rather direct, it’s understandable why Flick said what he did. At the moment, Bayern Munich are in the midst of a severe injury crisis. Both Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry have been ruled out for the Bundesliga opener against Hertha Berlin, leaving Bayern practically destitute on the wings.

That’s not all — Niklas Süle and Javi Martinez are injured, and Joshua Kimmich is suspended. Lucas Hernandez still has questionable fitness after being sidelined for several months with an ankle problem. And Flick is still expected to beat Hertha and keep up the pressure on RB Leipzig, who are currently 4 points clear of Bayern at the top of the table. Is it any wonder that Flick is calling for winter reinforcements?

On that front, Salihamidzic claims he is in constant communication with the coach.

There is no difference of opinion. We communicate constantly.

However, he immediately contradicts himself in the following statements, implying a difference in opinion:

We are assessing the options that are difficult to find in this transfer window as is well known. It is difficult to strengthen our team. The top players are never released by the clubs in this transfer window. We’re reviewing everything.

I’m a friend of doing one thing after the other. We are leaving all options open. We are not far along in any one thing, but we communicate constantly. We also need a player who can help us right away.

On the subject of winter transfers, the sporting director seemed rather pessimistic.

I have been trying to do something the entire time during the break. Of course I would like to help the coach, but it is not simple. We need a player who can help us right away. But it is not easy to strengthen our team. It also has to fit into the financial framework. At the end of the day, however, the most important thing is that the player has quality.

While Bayern Munich have been linked with a plethora of quality players, it seems that Brazzo is implying that winter reinforcements are unlikely to happen. That’s not likely to go down well with the coach or the team, if Thomas Müller’s comments are anything to go by.

While it’s fair to say that a Leroy Sané transfer is not in the cards until the summer, a failure to sign a single player could make it difficult for the Bavarians to achieve the desired goal of a treble. Bayern are already off the pace in the league, and have tough match-ups against Chelsea and Hoffenheim in the Champions League and the Pokal. With a squad this thin and injury-prone, winter transfers seem like a necessity.

Hopefully, the wheels are turning behind the scenes, and Brazzo’s comments are meant to be taken at face value. If not, things could get ugly in the Rückrunde.