Oliver Kahn, Hasan Salihamidzic react to Bayern Munich signing Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax

Noussair Mazraoui has officially completed his much-anticipated, long-awaited move to Bayern Munich from AFC ajax. He’s left the former on a free transfer after his contract will technically expire this summer and he’s on a four-year deal at Bayern, keeping him in Munich until 2026. Ryan Gravenberch is soon expected to follow suit in making the move from Ajax to Bayern.

As much as it will hurt Bayern’s defense to lose Niklas Sule to Borussia Dortmund, Mazraoui will certainly help shore up Julian Nagelsmann’s back line and club CEO Oliver Kahn is positive that the Moroccan international will make the team stronger. “Noussair Mazraoui is the next building block to further strengthen our team in a targeted manner. We’ve set ourselves big goals again for the new season and players like Noussair Mazraoui expand our options. We’re really looking forward to attacking with him again in the Champions League and we want to celebrate many successes with him in the years to come,” he explained (FC Bayern).

There were a handful of clubs interested in Mazraoui, knowing that his contract at Ajax was nearing its conclusion. While it wasn’t anywhere near as long as the Leroy Sane—Manchester City transfer saga, it took a solid couple of months of negotiation on Bayern’s part to get the Mazraoui deal over the line during a period where there’s been increased scrutiny of the club’s front office, mainly due to the contract situation of Robert Lewandowski and his links with a move to Barcelona.

Reflecting back on the process of getting him to sign for Bayern, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic expressed his delight for the Moroccan officially putting pen to paper at Bayern. “We are delighted that Noussair Mazraoui is our first signing of this transfer window. He had offers from all over Europe and chose us because we have a clear plan with him and we want to achieve big goals with him. Noussair is a player who puts a lot of pressure down the right offensively. We also like his mentality very much: He burns for this challenge at Bayern,” he explained.