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In the latest episode of the “Meine Bayern Woche” podcast, Florian Plettenberg said that both Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Bayern Munich are keen on a contract extension at the moment. A contract has not yet been signed, but because both the club and the player want an extension, it is merely an inevitability at this point and it can be all but guaranteed that he’ll be playing for Bayern next season.
Bayern want to extend Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's contract and the player also wants to stay. A contract has not been signed yet but Choupo-Moting will play for Bayern next season [ Meine Bayern-Woche, @Plettigoal] pic.twitter.com/x4KFLJtIcQ
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) May 14, 2021
He was initially signed on a one-year deal from Paris Saint-Germain during the summer/fall transfer window to serve as a backup to Robert Lewandowski, and it was up in the air on whether he would stay at the club beyond this season. But the player is happy to stay and the club has been impressed with his contributions. He missed out on Bayern’s title-clinching match day in the 6-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach through a back issue, but he could play a part in the final two Bundesliga match days against SC Freiburg and FC Augsburg, respectively.
So far this season, Choupo-Moting has scored 9 goals and provided 1 assist from a total of 31 appearances across all competitions (including the FIFA Club World Cup), the most prominent of which were arguably his goals in both legs against PSG in the Champions League quarter-finals. Ironically enough, he’s scored more of his goals in the Champions League (4) than in the Bundesliga (3), but that was largely because of Lewandowski’s four-week absence due to the knee injury he sustained on international duty with Poland.
From Bayern’s perspective, keeping a hold of Choupo-Moting is a win-win situation, especially if he’s able to be as productive next season. His market value has the potential to increase and Bayern won’t have to tap in to the transfer market to look for another Lewandowski backup or potential long-term replacement, which has been a recent topic of speculation. Joshua Zirkzee will also likely return from Parma at the end of the season and if he stays at Bayern, he would be another option in attack.