Hasan Salihamidžić explains Bayern Munich’s “two pillar” policy in search for new players

It’s becoming more and more obvious that young talents like Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho prefer a move to Bayern Munich’s rivals — Borussia Dortmund — and that might be a problem for the Bavarian team in the near future. Other youngsters might start to see Bayern Munich as a bad starting point in their career since the team is packed with world-class players, and they might get fewer minutes with the first team.

In an interview with Bild, Hasan Salihamidžić commented on that situation and explained the “two pillar” transfer policy. The meaning behind “two pillar” policy is that Bayern has one one pillar where it is looking to invest in “already proven” players, like Leroy Sane. The second pillar is scouting and finding young talents who, over time, will be integrated with the first team — like Alphonso Davies.

With the second pillar, it is getting more difficult for Bayern to attract youngsters, since a lot of them think they have little or no chance of breaking into the starting XI with Bayern. That was the opinion of Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham. Bellingham even visited Bayern facilities in 2018, but eventually decided on Dortmund.

Salihamidžić addressed these issues with Bild.

“The impression that young players have no chance of playing for the professional team at FC Bayern is made up,” said the 43-year-old sporting director.

Salihamidžić used the examples of Kingsley Coman, Joshua Kimmich, and Alphonso Davies as evidence of youngster who came to Munich and are now playing a vital piece in Bayern’s squad.

“All three became regular players in a relatively short or very short time,” said Salihamidžić. “I am confident that Tanguy Kouassi, who is also only 18-years-old, can also play an important role for our team. For FC Bayern, three factors are central to the selection of talent: footballing quality, mentality and the desire for titles.”

Salihamidžić added that talents in Bayern are integrated ‘in a more sustainable way’, while also explaining that it takes time for youngsters to get to a certain playing level and for them to get used to the team.