Mannschaft Planen: Seasoning the dish at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich’s squad has some clear holes, but even where it’s stacked, it seems the players are unmotivated to compete for their positions at times. Maybe Bayern could look to add in some other options to mix things up? Or maybe these could be replacements for outgoing players? Let’s get into it.

Note: As is the nature of Mannschaft Planen, this article will not only ignore transfer rumours, but players linked with Bayern Munich will be actively avoided. The point is to present alternative options.

Sergej Milinković-Savić

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Those who have read my previous works know that I have an intense passion for watching SS Lazio play football, and Sergej Milinković-Savić is the pinnacle of that. (Yes, I’m aware, politics, but they play good football alright?) Milinković-Savić has just one year left on his deal with Lazio, and while he has shown a fierce loyalty to Lazio in the past, Bayern could just about tempt him away with a fat contract. Milinković-Savić would be a far better partner for Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer as part of a midfield three, as the Serbian has shown an uncanny ability to slide into any midfield role. Watching him and Kimmich swap between deep/advanced positions would be the perfect pairing combined with Laimer’s constant work in the middle. If Bayern can’t get a top class No. 6, SMS must be the next option.

Milinković-Savić is valued at €60m by Transfermarkt, but Bayern could get him for as little as €50m if they can make him agree to leave and put time pressure on Lazio since he will only have a year on his contract.

Player Quality: 10/10
Potential Price: 6/10
TOTAL: 16/20 (80%)

Alessandro Bastoni

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Alessandro Bastoni is a player that Bayern Munich must look at if Lucas Hernández is set to leave. The Italian centre back is comfortable on the ball and strong physically much like Lucas, although he isn’t as strong in the tackle — but hey, he could always develop, and is there really anyone in the world who can tackle as well as Lucas? A key point to look at is that Bastoni is left footed, a rarity in ball playing defenders that are also physically imposing, and would make him the perfect addition to the current defensive roster in Lucas’ absence.

Bastoni is valued at €55m by Transfermarkt but has just one year left on his contract, so Bayern could get him for around €45m too, a fee that would ultimately be a profit for Bayern as Lucas would not be sold for anything less than €55m and Bastoni’s salary package would be much lower than Lucas’.

Player Quality: 8/10
Potential Price: 7/10
TOTAL: 15/20 (75%)

Aymeric Laporte

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If I could pick any one player for Bayern Munich to pick out of the players on this list, it would be Aymeric Laporte, in the situation that Lucas Hernández leaves. Laporte is simply too good to be on the bench for any team, and it seems the Spaniard is somewhat unhappy with his limited role at Manchester City. Laporte is the perfect replacement, so strong in the tackle and by far the best on the ball defender that Bayern would have if they could get him.

Laporte has a contract until 2026 so there is no bargain bin price but he is reportedly unhappy, doesn’t start for City and is valued at an already pretty low €30m, so that should be about the price Bayern have to pay for him. Come on Uli Hoeneß, you know you want to do it.

Player Quality: 8/10
Potential Price: 9/10
TOTAL: 17/20 (85%)

Ivan Toney

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This is one out of left field. Ivan Toney is currently serving an eight month ban from football by the English Football Association, and once that ban ends he will have little more than a year left on his contract at Brentford. It’s important to note that this ban does not apply to other leagues that we know of, giving Bayern possible space to move in on Toney who will obviously want to play football, especially if he can play it a top club like Bayern. Toney is the perfect striker solution in terms of both profile and quality. Yes, he isn’t a player of the calibre of Robert Lewandowski, but very few ever are. Toney is much better for the team.

Toney is valued at €50m by Transfermarkt but that price could very quickly come down due to Toney’s situation. I would say something like €40m would be a realistic fee. If Bayern Munich believe they don’t have the cash to spend on both Declan Rice and a top level striker, then Toney is the guy to go for. If I was Bayern I’d look to get Toney alongside Rice and Randal Kolo Muani.

Player Quality: 9/10
Potential Price: 7/10
TOTAL: 16/20 (80%)

Milan Škriniar

Photo by Mattia Ozbot - Inter/Inter via Getty Images

Have Paris Saint-Germain given up on Milan Škriniar? The Slovakian centre back seemed destined to join PSG since January but there have been no reports on the situation since April, while PSG in the meantime have stepped up their efforts to sign Bayern’s Lucas Hernández. Škriniar is a top class centre back, despite the fact he had an off-season this year — the Slovakian went game-for-game with Matthijs De Ligt during the 2021/22 season, let’s not forget. He would be the perfect player to pair alongside De Ligt in defense, because while his ball-playing ability is not the best in the world, De Ligt can progress the ball well enough to where Škriniar acts as a last man and lets De Ligt run loose. This movement allows De Ligt to move into the midfield when on the ball too, which covers for the potential lack of defensive midfielder if Rice were to not join Bayern. If it were up to me, Škriniar paired with Milinković-Savić would form good cover for the team.

Škriniar is of course available on a free, and his salary package, while likely to be lucrative, won’t be higher than Lucas Hernández €20m per year.

Player Quality: 8/10
Potential Price: 10/10
TOTAL: 18/20 (90%)

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What do you think of my picks? Are there any other out of the box options you think Bayern could explore if the preferred targets don’t land as we hope? Let us know in the discussion below.