Ajax’s Ryan Gravenberch open to joining Bayern Munich, price still an issue

Bayern Munich has faced a difficult season in terms of getting key players tied down to contract extensions. Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski are all still up for extensions, but the club is now also in the midst of trying to find a replacement for Niklas Sule. At different points, Andreas Christensen, Matthias Ginter, Denis Zakaria, and a handful of other names had been linked with Bayern, but all of those rumors have fizzled out at one point or another.

Ahead of Bayern’s 1-1 draw with Bayer Levekrusen kicking off last weekend, Oliver Kahn said that the club is remaining relatively relaxed over Lewandowski’s contract situation. He also confirmed a recent meetup with super agent Mino Raiola, which has sparked rumors that Bayern might be going after one of his many talented clients. Erling Haaland is the first name that everyone’s drawn to when Raiola and Bayern are mentioned in the same breath, but he also represents a young Ajax talent that’s highly sought after.

Per confirmation from Fabrizio Romano, Ryan Gravenberch’s name was mentioned in the discussions between Kahn and Raiola. While Bayern’s main priority is to find a defensive replacement for Sule, they are still interested in the Dutch midfielder. As if often the case with Bayern transfer targets, Gravenberch’s price tag would be the main issue, as he would likely cost somewhere around 30 million euros. This is a fee that Bayern most likely would not be willing to pay this summer, especially after losing David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez and Niklas Sule on free transfers in the span of just two seasons.

For this, Bayern would be in a difficult spot if they really wanted to make a strong push for Gravenberch. There’s a general understanding amongst the club’s front office that if an outgoing player doesn’t generate any transfer revenue, then they don’t want to have to spend money, or too much money, on the incoming replacement for said offer. In that respect, Ginter would be a very feasible option to replace Sule as he’ll be leaving Borussia Monchengladbach on a free transfer this summer, but it’s recently come out that Bayern was never seriously considering him as an option.

It remains to be seen whether or not Bayern would be willing to change their policy on free outgoing players and not breaking the bank for their replacements. Kahn wouldn’t go and meet with Raiola in Monaco for absolutely no reason, so that should, at the very least, be taken with a grain of salt.