It has become increasingly clear in recent weeks that Leon Goretzka likely does not have a future at Bayern Munich under Vincent Kompany. The German midfielder was not in the squad at all that beat SSV Ulm 4-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal in what was Kompany’s first competitive match in charge of the club; a telling sign of his current standing at the club. Additionally, it has since come out that board member for sport Max Eberl had told Goretzka he was not really in Kompany’s plans for the upcoming season while the team was in South Korea on their brief Audi Summer Tour.
Per new information from Suddeutsche Zeitung (via @iMiaSanMia), both Atlético Madrid and SSC Napoli hold an interest in trying to sign Goretzka this summer, but his high wages are currently a problem for both clubs. Both Diego Simeone and Antonio Conte are in the market for a central midfielder with their respective clubs, but Goretzka earning up to €18 million per year is something neither interested club can swing — that is far too expensive and would throw both squad balance sheets out of whack.
Simeone and Atlético thought they had all but secured the signing of Connor Gallagher from Chelsea, but that move was contingent upon the Stamford Bridge side securing a move for Samu Omorodion. The Omorodion transfer has not gone through as it had been anticipated to do and had left Gallagher in a bit of a transfer limbo, so far as to the midfielder traveling to Madrid ahead of a proposed move and waiting there for five days, just waiting for the deal to get over the line. That still has not yet happened and Goretzka is another option for them.
For Napoli, their opening Serie A matchday loss to Hellas Verona highlights there need for quality added to their squad, and Goretzka is a player they have been monitoring. Losing both Diego Demme and Piotr Zieliński definitely has not done anything to help Conte’s midfield as they look to shake off the rust of their 10th place finish in the Italian top flight last season; just one season removed from winning the Scudetto.
A move could also be something that saves Goretzka’s prospects of getting back in Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany squad. He missed out on the EUROs and Rudi Völler recently implored the midfielder to go somewhere where he will play regularly to increase his chances for the national team.
