Bayern Munich finally have their Thomas Tuche replacement in Vincent Kompany and the main focus has now shifted to the club’s squad planning efforts for this summer’s transfer window. Sporting director Christoph Freund has already mentioned that it could be a very busy window for the Rekordmeister and prospective transfer targets will now have more security assurances now that Bayern has finally appointed a new manager. A lot of transfer targets were previously weary of the fact that Tuchel had not yet been replaced by the club when they were initially linked with Bayern.
Manchester United captain and Portugal international Bruno Fernandes had recently emerged as one of the more high profile transfer targets for Bayern this summer, but it now appears that those links have cooled off a bit. Reports had suggested Bayern had already made contact with some of the midfielder’s representatives, but football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently shed some light on the topic speaking to CaughtOffside (via @iMiaSanMia).
“The reality is that Fernandes’ agent Miguel Pinho has met with some European top clubs last week. Contacts took place, but the player remains focused on Man United and his exit is not something decided at this point. It will also depend on Man United’s new project, what happens with the manager, what they will ‘present’ to Bruno in a new meeting. It’s a stand-by moment between Fernandes and Man United, waiting to make the final decision – with a new contract for the player also being a possibility in case he decides to stay,” Romano explained.
Despite the links to Bayern, Romano’s explanation echoes the sentiment both Erik ten Hag and Fernandes shared after United’s FA Cup final win over Manchester City at Wembley at the end of May. His current contract with The Red Devils runs through June 2026 with an option for United to extend for one more year attached to it. He is also currently valuated at around 70-million euros, which would be a rather steep transfer fee for Bayern’s standards this summer.
While Kompany’s appointment as Tuchel’s managerial replacement at Bayern might not be the sole reason the Fernandes links have cooled off, Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), have reported that the transfer of the Portuguese international was much more of a topic when Tuchel was still at the helm. It very well could have been the case that the player himself and his representatives were waiting things out to see if Bayern would be able to convince Tuchel to stay on board.
Looking for more thoughts on the hiring of Vincent Kompany, potential transfers in and out of Bayern Munich’s squad, plus some analysis on whether or not Germany can really be a force at the EURO 2024 competition? Good, then we have you covered with our latest Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show! The podcast is available on Spotify or below: