Report: Contract talks with Jerome Boateng to start no later than March at Bayern Munich

Over the past few months, the future of Jerome Boateng has flip-flopped several times, making it unclear whether or not Bayern Munich was interested in extending his contract beyond the end of this season. Several clubs across Europe have expressed interest in signing him, include Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin, but the case still remains open.

Per Sport1’s Florian Plettenberg, Boateng and Bayern are both open to a contract extension right now. It is understood that talks between Boateng and the club’s front office will begin no later than March with both options on the table; either to extend or to transfer elsewhere.

Apparently Boateng would like to stay at Bayern, but part of the decision making process will be what the transfer market looks like for Bayern. David Alaba will be leaving this summer and Bayern wants to get a top-rate defender to replace him. Right now, RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano is on the top of that list for Bayern, but he’s in demand by a number of different clubs across Europe’s top flights. Bayern would likely have to enter into a competition with Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Manchester United among other clubs to acquire his signature.

If Bayern was to win the race and wind up signing Upamecano, that would mean that they would then have three right-footed central defenders if Boateng doesn’t leave. Of course, Boateng could play in left central defense, but that’s also a role that best fits Lucas Hernandez. In the eyes of Bayern’s front office and coaching staff, it might be overkill to have three like-for-like players in the same position with Boateng, Niklas Sule, and Upamecano. If Bayern is serious about their pursuit of Upamecano and they succeed in landing him, it might be in their best interest to let Boateng leave, both for his own future and the club’s financial and squad balance.

Photo by A. Beier/FC Bayern via Getty Images