Karl-Heinz Rummenigge cools off Marcel Sabitzer links by backing Corentin Tolisso

With just a week left in the summer transfer window, the opportunity for Bayern Munich to sign Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig is diminishing, though reports out of East Germany on Monday suggested the two clubs are in the final stages of agreeing on a move worth €13-€14 million, which is less than the initial fee of €18 million that was touted.

All signs have pointed towards Sabitzer wanting to leave Die Roten Bullen and the club does not want to stand in his way, so it’s just a matter of getting a proper deal finalized the suits all parties involved.

Julian Nagelsmann, Hasan Salihamidzic, and the rest of Bayern’s front office have remained predictably tight-lipped about the Sabitzer rumors the more they’ve been pressed on them, but the momentum has been mounting behind the scenes. Former club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge went on Bild TV over the weekend to discuss Bayern’s win over FC Koln, his thoughts on Nagelsmann thus far, and the transfer market, among other things (as captured by @iMiaSanMia on Twitter). When he was asked specifically about whether or not the club will get the Sabitzer deal over the line before the transfer deadline, he shifted focus by singing Corentin Tolisso’s praises. “Sabitzer is a good player, but for me Tolisso is sometimes a bit too underrated,” Rummenigge said.

The French midfielder marked his return from injury last week in Bayern’s 3-1 DFL-Supercup win over Borussia Dortmund, coming on as a second half sub and providing the assist for Robert Lewandowski’s second goal of the match. He also clocked 24 minutes as a sub in the 3-2 win over FC Koln over the weekend. He likely would’ve been in the squad for Bayern’s Bundesliga opener against Borussia Monchengladbach had it not been for him having to self isolate after testing positive for coronavirus just as he was returning to full fitness from his injury recovery.

Photo by Tom Weller/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Hindsight is always 20/20, but Tolisso’s injury history at Bayern since he joined from Olympique Lyon in 2017 has been incredibly unfortunate. After a promising 2017/2018 campaign, his cruciate ligament tear in the beginning of the next season saw him miss virtually all of it and since then he’s been hampered with various injuries including one that required ankle surgery at the end of the 2019/2020, treble winning season.

At the time in the summer of 2017, Tolisso became Bayern’s record signing at a fee of €41.50m from Lyon, which was certainly worth it without the foresight of how bad his injury luck would be in the coming seasons. Even still, Rummenigge feels that the club made the right decision in signing him. “He was a good player. He scored many goals when Jupp Heynckes was coach. Tolisso is a useful player for FC Bayern,” he stressed.