New contenders emerge in Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper hunt

Two new names have popped up on Bayern Munich’s radar as they search for a goalkeeper to add to a group that will include the injured Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich at the start of the season. They are 28-year-old Albanian international Thomas Strakosha of Brentford and 23-year-old Croatian Dominik Kotarski of PAOK, per Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg:

Excl. Thomas #Strakosha: The 28 y/o from Brentford is also a new goalkeeper on the list of FC Bayern - next to #Kotarski.

➡️ Interesting for Bayern: Strakosha and Kotarski will be cheaper than Mamardashvili!

Decision about [Alexander] Nübel expected this week. As confirmed via Hoeneß: Bayern doesn’t push for an expensive successor for Neuer. @SkySportDE

Strakosha was the long-time keeper at SS Lazio before departing for the English Premier League on a free transfer last summer. However, he couldn’t break into the team ahead of the talented Spanish keeper David Raya, who himself has been the subject of transfer rumors for a while, including to both Arsenal FC in recent years and Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

But with Spurs moving for Guglielmo Vicario instead this summer, Raya might be set for a longer stay in Brentford, and Strakosha may already be on the move.

Kotarski spent a few years in the Netherlands with Jong Ajax before moving to Gorica in Croatia, and after one year there, PAOK in Greece. The young keeper is another talent in the Croatian pipeline; starting keeper Dominik Livaković of Dinamo Zagreb starred at the Men’s World Cup last winter and was the subject of transfer rumors to Bayern himself for a while.

Bayern look to be scrounging on the market and unwilling to commit big funds to this project — but these are some solid names to be linked with. With Neuer’s status uncertain and Ulreich’s age and contract advancing as well, it’s possible that whoever is signed this summer will feature at Bayern in both the short and long term.

Looking for the latest transfer talk? The Weekend Warm-up Podcast has you covered on Spotify or below. We hit on Harry Kane’s potential move to Bayern Munich, the uncertain statuses of Noussair Mazraoui, Sadio Mané, Marcel Sabitzer, and Ryan Gravenberch — plus what might be in store for Leon Goretzka in the coming weeks!

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