Hasan Salihamidzic “in good spirits” regarding Leon Goretzka’s contract at Bayern Munich

It has already been indicated that Bayern Munich is more than likely going to get Leon Goretzka to sign a new contract before this season ends, following suit with teammate and fellow midfielder Joshua Kimmich.

Last month, it was reported that Bayern would ideally try to get Goretzka’s new deal finalized after the international break and it’s expected that he will sign a five year extension, keeping him at the club until 2026, a year longer than Kimmich has just agreed to.

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic affirmed the sentiment that the club is “in good spirits” regarding Goretzka’s new contract on a television appearance on Sky90 on Sunday (via Sportbuzzer). “He is very important. He is a player who special skills has in midfield, box to box. We are in very good discussions,” Brazzo confirmed on the appearance when he was asked about Bayern’s number 8. As was reported last month, all of the personal terms between Goretzka and the club have already been agreed upon, it was just financial figures that still needed to be sorted out. Because of the financial status at the club after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, the finances of the new deal proved the be the most difficult part of the negotiations, expectedly.

Niklas Sule is another player who’s current contract is set to expire next June, but it’s Brazzo’s hope that the club will be able to extend his contract. Sule was linked with several clubs during the summer transfer window, but has been solid so far this season under Julian Nagelsmann, having started all of the Bundesliga matches bar the 4-1 win over RB Leipzig over the weekend.

While it might be in Bayern’s best interest to extend Sule’s contract, the wage structure at the club does make it increasingly difficult to accomplish. Salihamidzic said that he knows most of the guys in the squad want to stay together to shape an era at the club, realizing that they might have to agree to a lighter salary than they were expecting. “The guys also understand that they want to stay together. That way they don’t go to the limit when it comes to earning. They want to shape an era,” he explained.

Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images

With regards to shaping an era at Bayern, Goretzka’s new deal coming shortly after Kimmich’s would certainly send the right message to the rest of the squad, especially those with not long left on their contracts. Even with a new manager, there is harmony within the team after a positive start to the season as they prep for a massive clash against Barcelona in the Champions League midweek. This will be Nagelsmann’s toughest test to date as a Bayern manager.