RB Leipzig Konrad Laimer was ready for Bayern Munich move before it all fell apart

One of the worst kept secrets in the last summer transfer window was that Bayern Munich — and its manager Julian Nagelsmann — wanted to bring in RB Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer.

Ultimately, the move never happened, which seemed to disappoint Laimer.

“I would have been ready to take the step in the summer. It was very close, but the permission from Leipzig didn’t come,” Laimer said on Talk im Hangar-7 (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “On the one hand, that’s nice because I’m an important player. On the other hand, it’s also difficult because you think about it a lot. But I’ve come to terms with it. Life simply goes on. One of the best clubs in the world doesn’t come knocking every summer, but you can’t change anything. I prefer to focus on the here and now. If you think too much, you lose sight of the most important things.”

It is hard to envision how and where Laimer would fit at this stage given the already crowded group of midfielders. Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Marcel Sabitzer, and Ryan Gravenberch are all competing for playing time — and there simply is not enough to go around to keep them all happy so far. Adding Laimer would have made Nagelsmann’s player management duties even more difficult.

In the end, though, Bayern Munich could still make a play for Laimer next summer when the midfielder will become a free agent.