There are a lot of moving parts at Bayern Munich right now, and the unanswered questions are compounded by the fact that the majority of the squad is currently away on international duty with their respective nations. Vincent Kompany has officially replaced Thomas Tuchel, the club has already signed Hiroki Ito from VfB Stuttgart, and there are a bevy of transfer rumors for both inbound and outbound players for the Rekordmeister.
In defense, Bayern’s back line could look significantly different come the start of next season. Matthijs De Ligt is heavily linked with a summer move to Manchester United, and Dayot Upamecano recently said he is not 100% certain of his short-term future.
“We’ll see, we’ll see. It’s one of the biggest clubs in Europe. I have not yet discussed with the people in charge, I’m totally focused on the Euros. We’ll have a discussion after the tournament,” Upamecano replied when he was asked whether or not there is a possibility he could be leaving Bayern this summer (via @iMiaSanMia).
The French center backed was brought to Bayern by Julian Nagelsmann the same summer the manager joined the club from RB Leipzig, and then had to adjust to life under Thomas Tuchel towards the end of the 2022/23 season. His 2023/24 campaign was not covered in glory by any stretch of the imagination and Tuchel’s preference at center back became De Ligt and winter signing Eric Dier. Even Kim Min-jae struggled to get minutes for large portions of the season.
With Kompany now in charge, Upamecano still could not confidently say he would definitely remain a Bayern player through next season. “He’s a defender that I really liked. But at the moment, I haven’t had a discussion with him,” he replied when he was asked whether or not Kompany now being at the helm will affect his decision on staying or leaving Bayern.
His current contract at Bayern runs through June 2026 and he is valuated at €45 million per Transfermarkt, so the club would surely want to avoid taking the risk of having the defender go into the last year of his contract without his mind fully made up.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s massive EURO 2024-opening win over Scotland? Good, because the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show has you covered! We’ve got takes on Julian Nagelsmann’s lineup, the brilliance of Toni Kroos, Germany’s relentless attack, and why Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are probably winning over a lot of new fans. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: