FC Bayern sold or released nine players for free last summer. While some fight for titles with their clubs, others hardly get any playing time.
Mathys Tel, Kingsley Coman, Paul Wanner, Adam Aznou, Frans Krätzig, Gabriel Vidovic, Leroy Sané, Eric Dier and Thomas Müller – these are all the players that FC Bayern gave up permanently last summer. Their developments couldn’t be more different.
Initial difficulties at Tel, Coman convinced
Mathys Tel was Bayern’s top departure this year. Tottenham Hotspur put a total of 35 million euros on the table for the young Frenchman. However, he doesn’t really get to work in London yet. In the Premier League he has appeared in eleven games so far, but has only started in two of them. He scored two goals in a total of 277 minutes. A real improvement compared to his Bayern situation looks different, especially since Tel was only allowed to play for just over half an hour against Slavia Prague in the Champions League.
The second most expensive sale of the last transfer window was Kingsley Coman. Al-Nassr transferred an impressive 25 million euros to FCB for the 29-year-old winger. An investment that was definitely worth it: Coman was in the starting line-up in eight of nine games in the Saudi Pro League and collected three goals and five assists. The Frenchman can also impress in the AFC Champions League. He last scored twice in the group game against Al-Zawraa SC on Christmas Eve.
Wanner and Aznou are having a hard time
Paul Wanner has had less success with his new employer so far. After moving to PSV Eindhoven for 15 million euros, he was only able to make seven appearances in the Eredivisie, twice playing the full 90 minutes. Even in the Champions League, Wanner Stand only had short appearances. In a total of twelve competitive games for the Dutch league leaders, Wanner only managed one goal – in the cup against third division club Veenendaal.
Aznou left Bayern in the summer for around nine million euros and joined Everton FC. But there he plays an even smaller role than Wanner in Eindhoven – namely none at all. Although he was in the squad for every Premier League game for the Toffees apart from the first three games, the young Moroccan has not yet played a role. He was only allowed to play a total of three times in the EFL Trophy and the League Cup, and even in the starting eleven. However, all three games were lost.
Krätzig and Vidovic are scratching their starting spot
RB Salzburg only paid 3.5 million euros for the services of Frans Krätzig in the summer. Given the 15 competitive games he has played so far, one could almost call it a bargain, especially since the 21-year-old has already managed two assists. After a bumpy start, Krätzig is part of the extended permanent staff in the Austrian Bundesliga. He was on the field for over 90 minutes in each of the last three league games. However, he only played twice in the Europa League.
Gabriel Vidovic’s return to Dinamo Zagreb is not going according to plan so far. While he was always allowed to start in the first six league games, a different picture is now emerging. Due to his low yield of just one goal and one assist, Vidovic has been in the first eleven in just one game since then. He even had to sit on the bench eight times. Even in the Europa League, Vidovic hardly has any playing time. In four appearances he amassed just 52 minutes of playing time.
Sané and Müller are strong, Dier is plagued by injuries
Leroy Sané left FC Bayern for Galatasaray Istanbul on a free transfer amid great uproar. After initial difficulties at the start, he is now able to impress at the top Turkish club. After 23 competitive games, the 29-year-old has six goals and six assists, which means he has shot his way back into the DFB team. Coach Okan Buruk had Sané start in 16 of 17 league games, mostly without substitution. The winger has collected five strong scorers in the last four appearances.
Things are going even better for Bayern legend Thomas Müller, who has decided to spend the autumn of his career with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS. He has already become an absolute cult figure there thanks to his incomparable style, but the Upper Bavarian also knows how to impress in terms of sport. As captain of the Canadians, he scored nine goals and four assists in 13 MLS games (including playoffs). Müller thus started a run that only ended with the final defeat against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
Eric Dier has also been on the field as captain for AS Monaco, but only twice. After six games over 90 minutes, the Englishman suffered a thigh injury and later injured his calf, meaning he has not played a game since the beginning of October. Before his injuries, the central defender played almost every single minute. He only missed a single league game. Even with his injuries ignored, one can speak of a successful change.
Should Bayern have kept players?
Given the performances of some players, the question inevitably arises as to whether Munich should have kept some of those who left. Given the almost non-existent playing time of Adam Aznous, one might think that he could have collected more of them with Bayern – especially since Alphonso Davies was injured until recently. Overall, however, it can be said that the Bayern bosses have not made any major losses in terms of their donations.
Mathys Tel in particular, who with his whopping 35 million euros made a decisive contribution to ensuring that FCB leaves the transfer window this summer with a plus of over 10 million euros, is currently little to no missed in terms of sport. The same applies to Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sané and Thomas Müller, who would hardly be able to play at the moment anyway. Overall, you can congratulate the bosses on good sales.
