Bayern Munich’s decision not to sign one of Germany’s hottest young talent in Schalke 04’s Assan Ouédraogo was loudly blared across multiple media outlet’s headlines. The day it was made, the world essentially knew that Assan was not moving to Munich. However, any last shred of doubt has now been erased due to Alassane Ouédraogo, father of Assan, confirming the decision in an exclusive interview with Sky Sport and Florian Plettenberg. Ouédraogo senior had this to say: “Unfortunately, there have been many false rumors about Assan. There has never been any agreement between Bayern and us, although Bayern did leave a contract on the table for us months ago. For us, the perspective was more important than Bayern’s money. Of course, we knew about [the coaching search] at Bayern and followed it every step of the way. Bayern have now informed us honestly and openly that, for several reasons, they do not want to sign Assan this summer.”
It is crucial to note that Alassane used the word “leisten” in his statement, which can roughly either be translated to “to achieve” or “to afford”. Of course, one does not need to be a genius to figure out that the two definitions can mean vastly different things in the current context.
Alassane Ouédraogo goes on to detail how proud they are of the interest in Assan, but that they will carefully consider what the next step should be and what would be best for both the Schalke youth graduate and the club itself.
The father does confirm that they have had several written inquiries about Assan, not just from Bayern, but also from “many clubs” in the Premier League. He also states that multiple Premier League clubs even want to transfer his son directly from the 2. Bundesliga to the senior side, finishing off his statement by saying that they want to make the correct decision soon.
Bayern’s decision to not sign Ouédraogo came as a surprise to many. Will Bayern regret spurning such a highly rated young talent? Or was he simply not a necessary signing? We will only know for sure in several years.
Looking for more thoughts on Bayern Munich’s transfer strategy for the summer, including which players we would not mind seeing brought in? What about some ideas on whether or not Bayern Munich is set up to play a 4-4-2? Want even more? Well, we also have takes on Joshua Kimmich’s future in Bavaria, the German national team’s potential cut down, and Julian Nagelsmann’s possible mistake with Germany. Sound good? Then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show, which is available on Spotify or below: