Vincent Kompany now has all of his international stars back in the squad for the remainder of preseason bar any players that are still recovering from injuries. Only two friendlies stand in the way of now and the beginning of the competitive season with a first round DFB-Pokal clash at SSV Ulm before week one in the Bundesliga at VfL Wolfsburg. Bayern will play a friendly against Tottenham in North London and then a friendly against WSG Tirol in Unterhaching.
Kompany has fielded a variety of different starting selections in Bayern’s friendlies thus far, but there is still transfer business that could be done from now until the end of the transfer window at the end of this month. Both sporting director Christoph Freund and board member for sport Max Eberl have essentially promised more transfer business will get done this summer, whether that means outbound or inbound players.
Former club president Uli Hoeneß had recently advocated Bayern’s need to sell more players before they are able to buy any more this summer, but regardless of what might happen the rest of this month in the market, he sees progress in the team under Kompany. The Belgian manager has struck a vocal, commanding, and determined presence in training sessions and on the touchlines, leaving Hoeneß with a sense of “work being done.”
“I’m very, very, very confident that we will be at the top again next year,” Bayern’s honorary president enthused in a recent press conference, as per az’s Maximilian Koch (via @iMiaSanMia.) He has no doubt that Bayern will be able to knock Bayer Leverkusen off of the pedestal that they so impressively climbed to the top of under Xabi Alonso with a truly unprecedented season that very nearly ended in a treble.
Unlike last season under Thomas Tuchel, who Hoeneß was a strong advocate in bringing to Bayern in the first place, the former club president feels there is real progress being made under Kompany already and the coaching staff he has brought along with him. “Too little work has been done. Work has been done, but apparently not intensively enough,” he remarked in reference to last season; a season where Bayern went without silverware despite coming desperately close to reaching the Champions League final at Wembley. Now, he genuinely feels “there’s work being done” in preparation for the 2024/25 campaign (via @iMiaSanMia).
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: