Bayern Munich monitoring Manuel Neuer before starting new contract talks

Manuel Neuer has now featured five times for Bayern Munich since returning from a lengthy injury layover that was the result of a serious leg injury sustained just after last winter’s World Cup. Germany failed to progress out of the group stages in Qatar and frustrations for German football and Bayern fans was compounded with Neuer missing out on the remainder of last season, though Yann Sommer stood firm in his absence after the club signed him in the winter transfer window.

For now, Neuer is back and the number one keeper for Thomas Tuchel, relegating Sven Ulreich back to the backup’s role, with Daniel Peretz behind both of them. Internally, the club has indicated that they are interested in offering both Neuer and Ulreich new deals, though nothing concrete has taken place yet in that regard.

Per information from kicker’s Georg Holzner (via @iMiaSanMia), the club is also waiting to see how Neuer’s performances go before they initiate discussions over a new deal. He has only just come back from a very long period on the sidelines due to his leg injury and is still building up his match rhythm having missed so much time. The club’s bosses want to closely monitor how his performances go throughout the course of the season and how well his fitness levels are maintained before pen gets put to paper.

Ideally, the club is aiming to start discussions over a new deal for Neuer by the start of the second half of the season. By then, they feel they will have a solid enough understanding of where Neuer stands and how well he is reacclimatizing to being the number one keeper. So far, he has only kept two clean sheets from the five matches he has played in, and in the Bundesliga, he is averaging a 71.4% save rate, as per Fbref.

For Ulreich, the situation could, in theory, change for him before Neuer’s new deal is discussed, but it is safe to assume that the two are contingent upon one another. Bayern is ready to keep Ulreich as Neuer’s main backup, but Neuer’s contract is set to expire in June 2024. If Neuer’s deal gets extended, it is likely that Ulreich’s would, too.

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