Holger Badstuber: “The biggest problem in the squad has not been fixed yet” despite Harry Kane signing at Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich’s signing of Harry Kane was met with a lot of understandable exuberance from fans of the club. Finally, after a year of impotent finishing, Bayern has a top class striker again. It is a matter worth celebrating and a clear upgrade to the squad. But one former Bayern player thinks the squad still needs work.

AZ captures how Holger Badstuber, who was contracted to Bayern Munich from 2002 to 2017 and retired from football as recently as September 2022, wrote in his column that Kane is “important, but the biggest problem in the squad has not been fixed yet.” Which, of course, is the “number 6 in defensive midfield.”

Badstuber wants a defensive midfielder to be “physically strong, big, can win 50-50 duels and deals with difficult defensive situations.” To him, none of Bayern’s current midfield personnel in Joshua Kimmich, leon Goretzka, Konrad Laimer and Ryan Gravenberch fits the bill.

Of course, it has been widely reported that Thomas Tuchel is of the same opinion as Badstuber and has pushed the board to sign a defensive midfielder. Does Bayern have the budget to sign a defensive midfielder after the record breaking transfer of Harry Kane? Is there still a defensive midfielder available of the quality Bayern would want this late in the transfer window? The likelihood is no, but the window still runs for two more weeks. Let’s see what Bayern can pull out of their hat at the last second.