According to a report from Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich executives Max Eberl and Christoph Freund want Tah to be the vocal leader on the backline that the club has been looking for.
As of now, only Matthijs de Ligt and Eric Dier are considered to be a vocal presence at center-back:
Max Eberl and Christoph Freund want Jonathan Tah as an experienced and vocal centre-back. But the club must first sell a defender — Upamecano is a candidate. If he were to leave Leverkusen, Tah wants to join a top 10 club in Europe. Price valuation is around €20m with one year left on his contract. His agent Pini Zahavi is holding talks with potential new clubs.
According to a report from Sport Bild journalist Tobi Altschäffl (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich only wants to pay around €20 million, which seems really low for a player who has seen his profile soar this season:
Bayern are very interested in Jonathan Tah and the club’s idea is to pay around €20m for him. The clubs are far apart in their valuations. Talks have taken place.
Bayer Leverkusen, however, is not ready to think about letting Tah leave the club.
“We want to keep Jona and extend him beyond 2025. We’ll talk about that after the end of the season, now the focus is on achieving maximum success. And Jona thinks the same way, too,” said Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes to Bild (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Finally, if Bayern Munich is successful in procuring Tah, it would mean another center-back would leave like Plettenberg reported per Bild journalist Christian Falk:
True✅ If FC Bayern buys Jonathan Tah (28) from Leverkusen, a defender should be sold. Candidate number 1 is: Dayot Upamecano (25)
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) April 25, 2024
As for who that center-back might be, it remains to be seen. Eric Dier does not seem like he is going anywhere unless he develops a sudden urge to leave Germany. Matthijs de Ligt was out of favor earlier this season, but has re-established himself as a starter. Kim Min-jae and Dayot Upamecano are reportedly unhappy with their respective roles as a bench players, but Upamecano has a tight relationship with Ralf Rangnick, who Bayern Munich is expected to hire as its next coach.
Looking for thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s coaching search, the reality of hiring Ralf Rangnick, the club’s transfer possibilities, and some reasons to be excited ahead of the Champions League showdown vs. Real Madrid? Then check out the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show on Spotify or below: