Bayen Munich will not sign Alvaro Odriozola after his loan ends this season

It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to anyone, but per a new report by Sport1, Bayern Munich has decided that Alvaro Odriozola will be sent back to Real Madrid once his loan spell is over at the end of this season. The right back was acquired during the January transfer window on a 6-month loan deal from Madrid in part to fill the void left by Niklas Sule and Lucas Hernandez due to their long term injuries. He still has a contract with the La Liga giants that runs through 2024, but it’s understood that they may have been interested in extending his loan spell at Bayern if his performances warranted Bayern being interested in doing so, but that has not been the case at all.

The Spaniard has only made a total of two appearances for Bayern since joining. He started Bayern’s 3-2 win over SC Paderborn in February and came on as a substitute in Bayern’s 4-3 win over Hoffenheim in the DFB-Pokal round of 16; a total of 70 minutes played. Hansi Flick had called for at least two signings, and specifically defensive reinforcements during Bayern’s winter training camp in Doha, Qatar and there were a number of names touted before they eventually got Odriozola.

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BFW Analysis: More depth needed at right back?

The back four of Alphonso Davies, David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and Benjamin Pavard has worked wonders under Hansi Flick and Bayern boast one of the best defensive records in the Bundesliga since he’s taken charge. Ironically enough, Pavard recently said in a Sport1 exclusive interview that he envisions himself as a center back at Bayern in the future, but Flick has already stated that he wants to keep using Alaba as a center back and Sule and Hernandez are both working their way back from injuries. Regardless of whether or not Pavard continues on at right back or not, it’s a position Bayern still want to add depth too.

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Per Sport1, Hasan Salihamidzic has already made contact with 19-old defender Pierre Kalulu from Olympique Lyon’s reserve team, but the intention would be to keep him with Bayern’s reserves for a long period before he would potentially join the senior squad. Ajax’s Sergino Dest had been the most recent name linked with Bayern, but talks have been put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Dutch Eredivise season has since been cancelled altogether. In the winter, Bayern had also been linked with AS Monaco’s Benjamin Henrichs and Shakhtar Donetsk’s Dodô; names that could resurface in the next transfer window, whenever that may be.