5 players Bayern Munich could target in the summer

Bayern Munich have won another Bundesliga, but appear to be losing ground to their rivals. Here are five players they should consider signing this summer.

Despite facing stiff competition from Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich were able to secure their seventh Bundesliga title in a row in Niko Kovac’s first season at the helm. Top scorer Robert Lewandowski, mid-season catalyst Serge Gnabry, center midfielder Thiago Alcantara and a strong defense helped Bayern hold off Dortmund, and they have a strong nucleus of talent.

However, they need to be more competitive in Europe. They looked listless in the Champions League, getting thoroughly beaten by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the second leg of the round of 16. Their lack of depth haunted them in that matchup, with Rafinha getting torched by Sadio Mane in starting right-back Joshua Kimmich’s absence.

To address that weakness, Bayern have signed Theo Hernandez for 80 million Euros, with Stuttgart’s Benjamin Pavard also on his way. These signings will bolster Bayern’s defense, but Die Roten still need to add some more impact players to their attack, especially with James Rodriguez likely heading back to Real Madrid.

Here are five possible players for Bayern to sign this offseason, with a focus on strikers and wingers, which seem to be the positions Bayern will attack aggressively. Backups Sandro Wagner, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben have all left at various points this year, so high-quality depth and youth are keys for Bayern as they transition into their next era.

Timo Werner

Timo Werner has been linked to several teams, including Liverpool, but no team has been mentioned more than Bayern Munich. RB Leipzig would hate to lose their most promising attacker to the perennial favorites in Germany, particularly as they aim to one day become Bayern’s stiffest challenge to the championship.

However, worse than losing Werner to Bayern at any cost would be losing Werner to Bayern for free. It’s a fate familiar to Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, who lost star midfielder Leon Goretzka to the Bavarian giants for free last year.

Though there have been rumblings that Bayern and Werner came to an agreement earlier this year, it seems like the smoke between both sides has died down. Perhaps that’s because Bayern have inked star striker Lewandowski to a long-term deal since then.

Lewandowski uncharacteristically missed a large number of chances this season, but he still finished ahead of the likes of Werner, Luka Jovic and Dortmund’s Paco Alcacer to become the Torschutzenkonig. Despite his continued excellence as Bayern’s lone striker, there isn’t a real backup option behind him. Previously, Sandro Wagner fulfilled that role, but he left during the winter transfer period and admittedly wasn’t a strong option to begin with.

Werner is too good to be Lewandowski’s backup, but because of his pace and improving chance creation, he could be a rotational option on the wings. Eventually, Werner would displace Lewandowski, though he could make the case to start over Lewandowski immediately.

Bayern will be aggressive this summer, as their 80 million Euro signing of Hernandez at left-back/center-back during the season set the tone for what’s to come. They will be equally aggressive when it comes to making upgrades to their attack, and they do not want to leave anything to chance. Lewandowski is one of the world’s most durable strikers, but key injuries could threaten to derail Bayern’s season. This transfer season will be all about avoiding that exact type of situation.

More importantly, Werner is an incredibly athletic 23-year-old with the potential to become a world-class striker. He was clinical in 2018-2019 with 16 goals as Yussuf Poulsen’s partner-in-crime, and it wouldn’t be out of question for him to work well with Lewandowski one day. Werner remains a name to monitor, no matter how much Leipzig would hate to send him to Bayern.