Opinion: Bayern Munich should sign Gerrit Holtmann

Bayern Munich have an issue on their hands: finding a back-up for Alphonso Davies. Omar Richards, the only proper back-up for the Canadian, has been shipped to Premier League club Nottingham Forest. The only option that Bayern have would be to push Lucas Hernandez out wide, but he is needed in the middle because that’s where he works best. So, why don’t Bayern go out and snap up a low risk signing? Someone with pace and a knack for goal, someone similar to Davies’ profile.

That’s right, Bayern should go out and sign Gerrit Holtmann from Bochum.

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Bayern fans definitely won’t forget Holtmann when he scored a banger as Bochum thrashed us 4-2 back in February. So, let’s look into who the VfL Bochum speed demon is.

Holtmann was a late bloomer as well, bursting into the scene when he signed for Bochum aged 25. Now you would think that late bloomers wouldn’t become half decent over time, but a gentle reminder that Miroslav Klose became a pro footballer aged 20 and became known to the fans when he was 23 during the 2001-02 season. Holtmann is now 27, but there’s still time for him to exceed his abilities now and become even better.

Although Holtmann’s stats don’t seem like much, he is still a decent player. Holtmann recently suited up for the Philippines for international duty, and in his debut scored a 93rd-minute winner against Mongolia. I know, I know: a last gasp winner against Mongolia doesn’t really sound great, it sounds kind of embarrassing. Trust me when I say that we are working on establishing our presence in football and every result, big or small, helps us out massively.

Holtmann is 1.85 meters or 6 foot 1 inches tall, a decent height for a winger. He also possesses a LOT of pace and very good dribbling, the latter of which was shown to the world when he scored an insane solo goal against his former club Mainz 05. That goal got him the 2021 German Goal of the Year award and the Bundesliga Goal of the Season award, not bad for a late bloomer, eh? Holtmann can also shoot from distance, such as his goal in that 4-2 win.

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Primarily a left winger, he can also play on the right and even at left-back, which means we have an option for who could step in for Alphonso Davies should the Canadian be unavailable for selection or for rotation so Davies can be rested for more important games.

I should also tell you that Holtmann moving to Bayern would get a lot of pull in terms of marketing and PR. We Filipinos are very passionate about football, and we always love seeing our countrymen do well abroad; Holtmann signing for Bayern would fit those criteria. I can confidently say that any Bayern fan in the Philippines (including myself) became a fan of the club because of David Alaba, now of Real Madrid. Alaba, who is part Filipino, was pictured with a flag of the Philippines, Austria, and Nigeria sewn together when they won the 2013 Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

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The win of course made headlines around the world, and chances are pictures of Alaba was seen here and drew people to support Bayern. Holtmann would introduce more Filipino fans to Bayern and would make a good avenue for marketing.

With that in mind, we can have this line-up:

Tasty line-up, I’d say.

Holtmann wouldn’t cost a lot to sign either, being valued at 4 million. I’m confident that we can work it out with Bochum if we are gonna go through with this signing. He can beef up his value too while he’s here, and I think he has the goods to make it big in Munich.

So that explains my reasoning behind why Bayern should sign Gerrit Holtmann. If you are still in doubt, then the wise words of former Borussia Dortmund and current Manchester City striker Erling Haaland should enlighten you: