According to a report from Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich is still intent on selling defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui to Manchester United this month:
The clear tendency at this stage is that Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt will join Manchester United this month. If all goes to plan, a double transfer will be completed. Positive and ongoing negotiations between the clubs are underway. Deals are not done yet, but progress is being made.
Once the money flows in, Bayern Munich will then focus on acquiring Bayer Leverkusen center-back Jonathan Tah and Rennes winger Désiré Doué per Plettenberg. However, if Bayern Munich can only get one player, it will seek to secure Doué — which will add yet another wingers into an already overcrowded roster position:
After they sell de Ligt and Mazraoui, Bayern’s plan is to invest on Jonathan Tah and/or Désiré Doué. If only one of Tah or Doué were to be signed, then the top priority is the Frenchman.
Plettenberg also gave a breakdown on the Tah situation and why things have been a bit of a mess over the past week:
• Bayern let the deadline pass and told Leverkusen they have no intention of paying the asking price at the moment
• Leverkusen want to keep Tah and go into the final year of his contract
• Tah only wants Bayern and doesn’t want to extend in Leverkusen or stay this season
• Tah’s agent Pini Zahavi is working on a move to Bayern this month once de Ligt is sold to Manchester United
• The poker is still on. Door not closed yet on the move
For now, everyone in the scenario is sitting tight, thought it would not be shocking if Bayern Munich’s higher-ups were having a chat with the Manchester United brass this weekend in England.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s developing midfield situation, where Joshua Kimmich fits into it, and how it will have an effect on several other players? What about our takes on the transfer situations surrounding Jonathan Tah and Bryan Zaragoza, plus some key things to look out for as Bayern prepares to face Tottenham Hotspur (again!)? If none of that floats your boat, maybe you just want to hear a bitter man yell about that lousy season of House of the Dragon? You can check out any or all of that on Patreon, Spotify, or below: