Another look at who stands to win and lose as Bayern Munich transitions to Julian Nagelsmann

After the news broke that Bayern Munich had hired Julian Nagelsmann, many people started to wonder how the new boss might utilize the existing pieces on his roster.

At Bavarian Football Works, we already gave our ideas on who the winners might be, along with who some of the losers could be.

Bild, however, gave their own take and some of the names might be a bit surprising, especially given how some players performed under Hansi Flick and how sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic might push to see some of his signings get more time:

Bild’s potential winners

• Marc Roca and Bouna Sarr: Bild referred to the duo as “flops” who might get a new life under Nagelsmann. Bild also insinuated at any “Brazzo players” (aka, players who Brazzo brought in against Flick’s wishes) had a “difficult time.”

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BFW Analysis: Sure...I guess things can’t get any worse for these two than they were under Flick, who had no confidence in either. What if, however, Flick didn’t play them because they weren’t any good rather than over some spiteful reasons that involved Brazzo?

• Niklas Süle and Dayot Upamecano: Bild stated that Süle became a “top defender” under Nagelsmann, while at Hoffenheim and noted that Süle is on record as saying this about his new boss back n 2019: “I think that he — maybe not in the near future, but someday — will be the coach of FC Bayern.” Bild thinks the familiarity between the duo will benefit Süle. Upamecano, meanwhile, is set to have a seamless transition with Nagelsmann now at the helm.

BFW Analysis: We concur with this. Both players should see this as advantageous. The wild card, however, is if Süle truly wants to leave Bavaria for England.

• Lucas Hernández: Caught in a numbers game this season, Bild thinks the Frenchman “should become even more of a leader in defense after the departures of Alaba and Boateng.”

BFW Analysis: Bild is assuming Nagelsmann will run a back three, but does offer Hernandez could be in a similar spot as this season under Flick if the new manager decides to run a back-four.

• Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting: Bild thinks there could be more opportunities for Choupo to play — even alongside Lewandowski.

BFW Analysis: Huh? Whose position is Choupo going to usurp? Thomas Müller? Leroy Sane? Serge Gnabry? Kingsley Coman? Jamal Musiala? It seems like Choupo would be in the same exact spot as he was this season: a valuable reserve.

Bild’s potential losers

• Benjamin Pavard and Alphonso Davies: As Bild wrote, “The losers in a chain of three could be the full-backs. Especially Benjamin Pavard, who was always seeded as a classic four-back right-back. It is questionable whether that would also be the case with the more offensive outside position. Alphonso Davies would also have to adapt — for him the more offensive role could even be ideal, as he has top qualities with his speed and actually came to Bayern as an offensive player anyway.”

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BFW Analysis: Nagelsmann’s formation will play a big role in what happens with both players. For Pavard, he can slide into the center-back rotation and also at least attempt to play at wing-back. For Davies, a wing-back spot seems like a pretty seamless move for the Canadian, whose primary position is still probably as a winger. Pavard is certainly more at risk than Davies and definitely stands to have a lot more to lose, but the Frenchman also reportedly wants to eventually move to center-back anyway.

• Tiago Dantas: Bild stated that Flick was “the only one fighting for Dantas”, so the young midfielder’s future would seemingly be in major doubt without Flick in the picture. Even before the news on Nagelsmann broke, it was very doubtful that Bayern Munich would exercise the purchase option on Dantas anyway.

BFW Analysis: Dantas is physically too slight at this point to be considered any type of prospect with Bayern Munich. Sending him back to Benfica would be the right move.

• Thomas Müller: Bild is unsure if Müller’s position will be able to exist in the same manner as it does today...and then what happens with Müller if he can’t play that way?

BFW Analysis: This is a valid concern and not just because Nagelsmann’s formation could cause some issues for Müller. The last two coached not names Jupp Heynckes and Hansi Flick had zero idea what to do with Müller and ultimately benched him — which caused the team to spiral into disarray and inconsistency. It is nice to think that Nagelsmann will have the ingrained Bavarian knowledge to make it work with Müller, but it is certainly a risk.

• Kingsley Coman: Bild insinuates that Coman could fall back to being the odd-man out as Nagelsmann could be be prodded to try and get the most out of Leroy Sane.

BFW Analysis: With the absence of a need for a pure “Bayern Munich winger” position in his preferred formation, Nagelsmann certainly might not necessarily need Coman, Sane, and Serge Gnabry. Bild seems to imply that Brazzo will be pushing for Nagelsmann to get the most out of Sane — and in doing so, will give him a more featured role. What we learned about Sane this season is that he has immense talent, but is rampantly inconsistent and has been mired in a long slump for the majority of the Rückrunde. With Coman’s contract situation reportedly set to be determined this summer, the Frenchman could ultimately decide to see what else is out there if he cant cement a role under his new boss.