More delays expected at Bayern Munich for Serge Gnabry, Niklas Sule contract negotiations

Bayern Munich still plans on renewing Serge Gnabry’s contract, but options are still open for Niklas Sule. Bayern has already tied down Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka to new deals, and they also plan on renewing Thomas Muller’s contract at some point before his current contract expires in June 2023. With all of the financial setbacks caused by the coronavirus pandemic, navigating through contracts and the transfer market has been increasingly difficult, not only for Bayern, but for clubs across the globe. Both Kimmich and Goretzka had to expect salary increases that were less than they would’ve been had the pandemic not happened.

Per new information from Abendzeitung, Bayern’s front office is imploring both Sule and Gnabry to consider the current financial situation at the club due to the pandemic. Both players, with their agents and representatives, will have valuations of themselves and their own wage demands, but they might not be as realistic. Sule’s contract expires this summer while Gnabry’s expires in 2023, but it’s become clear from the club that they will eventually get a new deal over the line for Gnabry, while Sule’s situation remains more open.

Since March 2020, when the pandemic brought about a pause to matches across Europe, Bayern has posted a loss of roughly 150 million euros, and now that Geisterspiele have been reintroduced due to increasing infection rates in Bavaria, more losses are forecasted. This will be the case for the rest of the calendar year, but it remains to be seen what will happen with 2022 as far as fan attendance numbers in Bavaria. Bayern’s front office is making it clear that both Sule and Gnabry should consider said losses when it comes to the negotiating table.

With less time less than Gnabry, and interest from other clubs abroad, Sule’s situation is a bit trickier. All doors are still open at this point, and as Oliver Kahn had recently reiterated, he’s not entirely sure that Sule will expect whatever wages Bayern is prepared to offer him. “That always depends on what the player is asking for. We made it clear at David Alaba that we have certain limits,” he said. He continued by saying it depends on “whether we can find a basis where it can work for both sides,” emphasizing that they must “include the overall situation in all considerations.”

From Julian Nagelsmann’s standpoint, it’s paramount that Bayern is able to negotiate a contract extension because of how important Sule has been this season. He’s stood in firmly as a makeshift right-back at times when both Benjamin Pavard and Josip Stanisic haven’t been available in addition to his contributions as a center-back. There are even pundits and fans alike that would suggest Sule is the long term solution at right back, leaving Dayot Upamecano and Lucas Hernandez as the the primary center back pairing. Other clubs are interested and could potentially offer more money, but it’s Bayern’s job to convince Sule that it will be in his best interest to stay.

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