Bayern Munich has had a long-standing interest in American youngster Bajung Darboe. Trialling with the club at just 16 years of age despite being unable to move to Europe before his 18th birthday, Bayern waited patiently as Darboe, in the meantime, switched clubs from Philadelphia Union to Los Angeles FC. Bayern and LAFC, of course, are partner clubs in the intiative Red&Gold Football. So, when Darboe turned 18 in November last year, it took less than 24 hours for reports to surface that Bayern had secured the youngster on a permanent deal and that he would arrive in January.
This report seemed to be further backed up by LAFC’s official announcement of roster movements for 2025, which stated that “LAFC has also transferred midfielder Bajung Darboe to FC Bayern Munich of Germany’s Bundesliga.”
So what is the problem? Well apparently, via @iMiaSanMia, the deal has not gone through… yet:
Bayern are closing in on the signing of LAFC’s Bajung Darboe (18) for around €1.5m. The club was already looking at the player in November, but the deal had not been finalized. Now the move is back on the cards and could be done in the coming days. Darboe will initially play for the second team.
In the end, it does not really matter when Darboe signs as long as he signs. But, if this report is to believe, there were certainly some wires crossed somewhere. The talented midfielder/winger looks set to join the stacked forward line of the U-23s in the Regionalliga, where even star summer signing Nestory Irankunda’s departure to Grasshopper Zürich hardly guarantees the American any playing time. Darboe will need to adapt quickly in order to compete with the rest of the forwards in the team.
