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For a record signing, Lucas Hernandez has not exactly had a banner season with Bayern Munich. The 24-year-old, 2018 World Cup winner has battled injuries and inconsistency during his time in Germany so far and at least one publication is reporting that the Bavarians have seen enough of the former Atletico Madrid defender.
Per Tz information, Bayern Munich has “brought up” Hernandez as a potential bargaining chip to both Inter Milan and Manchester. The Bavarians, of course, are deep in negotiations with both clubs as the German record champions are seeking to finalize Ivan Perisic’s future with Inter and procure Leroy Sane from Manchester City.
Could the “€80 million man” already be on his way out of town? Let’s check in with the Flex Master himself to confirm or deny the rumor:
Not true (True: @FCBayern wants to keep @LucasHernandez) https://t.co/fcjxNxl0CZ
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) May 29, 2020
As seen above, Sport Bild’s Christian Falk quickly refuted the Tz report, but it was yet another rumor involving Hernandez from the past week. Just last week, the versatile defender was linked to suddenly deep-pocketed Newcastle United. In addition, there were some very loose reports that Real Madrid wanted to bring in the defender, which Hernandez’s own agent quickly shot down.
BFW Analysis
The back-line under Hansi Flick has evolved sans the Frenchman in recent months despite the record-amount spent on Hernandez. It appears that David Alaba, Alphonso Davies, and Benjamin Pavard have all — deservedly — locked down spots in the starting XI. In what could have been considered as nearly inconceivable last August, Hernandez has not been able to pry away a starting spot from Jerome Boateng as incumbent starter Niklas Sule rehabs his way back to health from an ACL injury. Certainly, this is not what Bayern Munich had in mind when it shattered its record-signing amount on the oft-injured France international.
While this report was quickly “flexed” into submission by Falk, it does raise a fair question on how much patience Bayern Munich is willing to show with an asset that it has yet to receive any real return on investment — yet. It would seem WAY too early for Bayern Munich to pull the plug on Hernandez, but it also remains difficult to see how Hernandez will break into the starting XI should Sule return to old his form.
Would a player so young — and so valued internationally — be willing to be a rotational piece behind an established and talented starting foursome? It is a safe bet that we find out the answer to that question in the early stages of the 2020-2021 season.