Most of the attention at the end of last summer’s transfer window was Bayern Munich was focused on the deal that fell through at the final hour for Fulham midfielder João Palhinha. The Portuguese international was in Munich, had taken his official press photos for the unveiling, and was ready to fully become a Bayern player, but the deal fell through just before the window closed in Germany, much to the bemusement of the player himself.
However, there was another nearly done situation last summer for Bayern, who at the time, was trying to compensate for the loss of Yann Sommer, Lucas Hernandez, and Benjamin Pavard. The departure of the trio of players left gaps that were ultimately filled, but Bayern wound up signing youngster Daniel Peretz from Maccabi Tel Aviv to replace the departure of Sommer even though Manuel Neuer was fit midway through the Hinrunde and still had Sven Ulreich in the ranks.
Bayern had been linked with a handful of senior goalkeepers throughout Europe knowing that Sommer would be leaving and Neuer would not be ready from the start of the season, but prospective deals proved harder to get over the line than perhaps initially anticipated. Valencia’s Giorgi Mamardashvili was one of said candidates, as Bayern was close to signing the Georgian international, but a deal fell through.
Mamardashvili recently revealed just how close he was to joining Bayern from Valencia last summer speaking to Geo Team (via Fabrizio Romano). “My agent visited Munich to find an apartment. But as far as I know, in the end, they refused to pay €35 million for me,” the keeper explained. He night not have been as far along as Fulham’s Palhinha, but he was perhaps just as perplexed as the Portuguese midfielder to have not gotten a deal over the line.
The keeper is expected to leave Valencia this summer after courting offers last summer. Newcastle United are closing in on a deal for him at this current juncture.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Bayern Munich’s potential hiring of Vincent Kompany, plus the latest transfer rumors involving Bayern and VfB Stuttgart’s Chris Führich, AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez, and…Jamal Musiala? We have you covered with our latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show, which is available on Spotify or below: