ALPHONSO DAVIES RETURNS: BAYERN'S STRENGTH BOOST SIGNALS SACHA BOEY'S JANUARY EXIT
Sacha Boey's time at Bayern is ending as the return of Davies and others leaves him surplus. The club is reportedly looking to offload the full-back to Crystal Palace.
Bayern Munich got some good news this week: Alphonso Davies is back! He played against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, his first game since March, when he got hurt playing for his country.
After the winter break, Jamal Musiala will be back too, giving the team another choice up front. Hiroki Ito is also back after being out for a while.
The Bayern bosses think having these guys back to full strength will make the team stronger for the rest of the season. They're not planning on buying anyone new in January, but one or two players might leave.
Sacha Boey is the most likely to go. He's not the first choice at full-back, with several players ahead of him. Fabrizio Romano says Crystal Palace are interested in signing him.
Boey played a bit in September and October. But when Josip Stanisic got back from injury, Boey was back on the bench. With Ito and Davies back, Konrad Laimer will probably play mainly at right-back. Raphael Guerreiro has also played there, so Boey might not get much playing time in the second half of the season.
Bayern will probably lose money on Boey
They paid a lot for him in January 2024 to get some cover at right-back. But he had some injury problems in his first six months.
People thought Boey would be important under Vincent Kompany since he wanted to sign him at Burnley. But injuries and not playing well kept Boey out of the team last season.
Now seems like a good time for Boey to leave Bayern and find a club where he can play every week and get his career going again. Bayern won't get the €30 million they paid for him two years ago. They have a good relationship with Crystal Palace after the Michael Olise deal, so that might help them sell Boey to the Premier League team.
Olympique Marseille wanted to sign Boey in the summer, and they might try again in January. We'll see if Bayern tries to replace Boey, since they're mainly looking at long-term signings in the summer.
BAYERN MUNICH RULE OUT MARCUS RASHFORD MOVE REGARDLESS OF ANTHONY GORDON OUTCOME
Marcus Rashford is not a target for Bayern Munich this summer, as the club focuses entirely on signing Gordon from Newcastle.
Bayern Munich aren’t considering a move for Marcus Rashford this summer, no matter what happens with Anthony Gordon. That’s according to a German reporter who’s close to the story.
Right now, Rashford is wrapping up his loan at Barcelona. He’s set to return to Manchester United at the end of the season. Barcelona have an option to make the deal permanent for €30 million (£26 million) in the summer. Both Rashford and Barcelona want him to stay, but here’s the catch: the club doesn’t want to pay the full €30 million.
Barcelona would rather keep Rashford on loan for another year or get him for a lower fee. Manchester United’s not having it. They want the full price, so Barcelona are starting to look at other players.
Rashford hasn’t made a secret of where he wants to be. Earlier in the season, he told Sport, one of the local Barcelona papers, about how much he wants to stay, saying, “Of course, what I want is to stay at Barca. It’s the ultimate goal.” He talked about the pressure and expectations at the club, saying they keep him motivated and that he feels like he’s in the perfect environment to grow and win trophies. For now, though, it’s all up in the air until next summer.
Last year, Bayern Munich actually showed some interest in Rashford before he went to Barcelona. But now, they’re focused on signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United for the left wing. The problem is, Gordon’s interested, but Newcastle’s price is ridiculous, reportedly around £80 million (€92.6 million). That’s much higher than what Bayern’s willing to pay. They’re thinking closer to £60 million (€69.4 million), and maybe with add-ons or an instalment plan. If Newcastle won’t budge, it probably isn’t happening.
Christian Falk, a trusted journalist from Bild, says Bayern aren’t considering Rashford as a backup if they can’t land Gordon. Bayern’s got a short list of players for the left wing, and Rashford isn’t on it. Gordon’s their main focus, but even if that deal falls through, Rashford’s not the next in line.
So at this stage, Bayern and Rashford won’t be coming together this summer, even if Gordon stays at Newcastle. That’s just not in the plans.
BAYERN MUNICH IDENTIFY ARSENAL’S KAI HAVERTZ AS TOP TARGET FOR SUMMER WINDOW
From North London to Munich? Kai Havertz emerges as the leading candidate to join Bayern’s elite Premier League-built attack.
Bayern Munich still have their eye on an Arsenal star, hoping to bring more Premier League experience up front, especially after plans with Chelsea fell apart.
Right now, Bayern are among the best teams in Europe. It really depends on how you rank PSG, but Bayern’s up there, no question. Vincent Kompany deserves a lot of credit for getting them to this level. Still, you can’t ignore their recruitment. They keep picking top-flight Premier League attackers, and it works.
With Luis Diaz, Harry Kane, and Michael Olise, Bayern’s attack is lethal. Those three have already scored 100 goals this season. Defenders in the Bundesliga just can’t cope, and you can tell their time in England’s toughest league has paid off.
Bayern have another Premier League forward in the mix right now, but he’s not sticking around.
Chelsea deal off, Bayern looking at Arsenal.
On Wednesday, Fabrizio Romano made it official that X: Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson will head back to Stamford Bridge this summer because Bayern aren’t activating his €65m buy option. Bayern’s director, Max Eberl, confirmed it, so that the backup spot behind Kane opens again when Jackson leaves.
James Benge reports that Kai Havertz’s name is coming up as a possible replacement. He said on the Inside Arsenal podcast that Bayern are definitely interested, “but nothing concrete yet.” Havertz could be the squad player who covers for Musiala and Kane.
Honestly, signing a German for Germany’s top club makes sense. Arsenal won’t just roll over, though, if Bayern come calling. Even after picking up Viktor Gyokeres last summer, Mikel Arteta still prefers Havertz up front. When Arsenal played Manchester City in their biggest game this season, Arteta benched Gyokeres and started Havertz.
Havertz has had injury issues this year. Heading into summer, he’ll still have two years left on his contract. If Bayern make a strong offer, Arsenal could think about selling.
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