The circus music is playing all around Säbener Straße these days as Bayern Munich is fumbling and bumbling its way around man-management issues with Leon Goretzka and Kingsley Coman — two players that it desperately wants to sell (and that it had all summer to make available).
Right now, Bayern Munich is in a stalemate with both players, unable to find willing trade partners as of yet. Goretzka seems intent on staying despite the club’s insistence that he should beat it, while Coman has loose interest from a few clubs, who no doubt recognize that Bayern Munich has zero leverage at this point.
However you feel about the two players, the situation puts a stain on the transfer window. Many are imploring Goretzka to “take the hint”, but the Bavarians’ strategy to not even dress the 29-year-old might actually be hurting their chances to sell him. One person who thinks Goretzka just need to skip town is Stefan Effenberg, who recently implored the midfielder to save his season and leave Bavaria.
“(João) Palhinha will be set and I see all the other midfielders in front of Goretzka at the moment. He must also recognize that. On the one hand, I always wish that the players accept the fight for the starting places. On the other hand, as a player, you also have to reflect on whether the path to another club might not be the better one — especially with a view to the World Cup in two years, where Goretzka wants to be there,” Effenberg told Sport Bild (as captured by @BavarianFBWorks).
It would be nice to say that the ball is in Goretzka’s court, but this situation is deeper and more complex than that.
Atlético Madrid and Napoli reportedly have interest in Goretzka, but nothing substantial has developed regarding transfer talks just yet.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s upcoming start to the Bundesliga season, the club’s treatment of Kingsley Coman and Leon Goretzka, plus some thoughts on why Paul Wanner’s development at Heidenheim will be a story you should follow this season? Great, then check out the show on Patreon, Spotify, or below:
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