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Today’s exclusive transfer round-up from Bundesliga insider Christian Falk, featuring Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United and more
Today’s top stories
- Could Liverpool or Manchester United steal one top sporting director from the Bundesliga?
- Why Roberto De Zerbi screamed at 13-goal Bundesliga striker for half an hour at Brighton
- And further updates on Jadon Sancho, Leroy Sane, Kylian Mbappe and more!
BUNDESLIGA
The Bundesliga has long been considered the “Farmer’s League” for England. But times have changed! The Bundesliga is now the “rehabilitation league” for players who have failed in the Premier League. The fans in Germany can be just as happy as the managers: the Bundesliga is getting quality back and making a profit at the same time! The most prominent example is of course Jadon Sancho. And there are also many interesting transfer developments that affect both the Bundesliga and the Premier League.
BAYERN MUNICH
It is said that Manchester United and perhaps also Liverpool FC have their eye on Christoph Freund in their search for a new sporting director. But: FC Bayern’s new sports director just came from Red Bull Salzburg in the summer. He had previously rejected an offer from Chelsea in the past. For all English people who can’t estimate the distance between Munich and Salzburg: it’s an hour and a half on the highway, we call “Autobahn”. Freund’s family continues to live in Salzburg. Freund is happy that his job is at a top international club and yet not far from his family. That’s why he’s not interested in the current speculation from England.
Liverpool FC could have better luck with a player of FC Bayern. Leroy Sané (27) is aware that he is on the Reds’ list if Mohamed Salah leaves for Saudi Arabia. His contract in Munich runs until 2025. His future is open. He changed also his management a few weeks ago. He doesn’t rule out a transfer in the summer. But I heard that Liverpool can also imagine not selling their star man to Saudi despite the high offers from Al Hilal. The Reds bought him from Roma in 2017 for just £42m. Salah more than paid back the money. From this point of view of Liverpool, they could cope with letting Salah leave without a fee in 2025 if he really does not extend his contract.
Bitter for Liverpool: Kylian Mbappé is said to have seriously considered a move to Liverpool. I heard that working with Jürgen Klopp is said to have appealed to the star from France. His thought: Klopp would have made him an even better player. With Klopp’s departure, this argument no longer exists. Liverpool should now definitely be out of the race.
BARCELONA
Hansi Flick is already learning Spanish, because he is keen on the Barca job. His chance: Brighton will demand a fee for Roberto de Zerbi, as they did with Graham Potter. Chelsea paid €17.4m. A lot of money for Barca, which they don‘t really have at the moment. Flick would be a free agent.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Jadon Sancho (23) is already a decisive factor at Dortmund after just a few weeks. When he wasn’t in the squad due to muscular problems against Heidenheim, there was a disappointing 0-0 draw. The Dortmund bosses are all the more hopeful of being able to keep Sancho beyond the loan until next season. But they need his help. Because United’s transfer expectations, which are said to be between £40-50m, are too high for Dortmund. The Dortmund bosses are therefore relying on Sancho to put United under pressure. According to the motto: If you want to sell me, then I’ll just go to Dortmund! Then BVB could definitely push Manchester down in price. The principle already worked with the loan, which was very cheap for Dortmund at €3-4m including salary. But there is also a problem: Sancho himself would also have to forego his salary. Unlike at United, he could only earn a maximum of €10m gross at BVB. In Manchester, he reportedly gets almost twice as much.
Giovanni Reyna (21) could help Sancho. The offensive player was only loaned to Nottingham because there was no offer to buy him. That’s why his contract was extended until 2026. Reyna will not be brought back in the summer, but will be sold. The income would also help with the Sancho deal.
The case of Ian Maatsen (21) is even more difficult. The purchase clause of €35m in his contract from Chelsea is also too expensive for Dortmund. If he continues to impress in Dortmund until the summer, Dortmund will try to make Chelsea an offer that is cheaper. Chelsea would have to accommodate BVB for a transfer.
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
Frankfurt also hope to do good business with Donny van der Beek (26). United transferred the sum of €39m to Ajax Amsterdam in 2022. Thanks to a purchase clause, Frankfurt should be able to buy van de Beek for just €10-15m in the summer. But the Dutchman would also have to forego his salary. The top earners in Frankfurt are Kevin Trapp (33) and Mario Götze (31) with up to €3.5m gross per year. That’s just half what van de Beek is supposed to earn at Manchester.
One decision this week shows that van de Beek is not yet irreplaceable at Frankfurt: van de Beek was not registered for the 24-man squad for the Conference League. The new strikers Sasa Kalajdzic (26) – perhaps the next good deal for the Bundesliga from Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers – and Hugo Ekitiké (21) as well as left-back Philipp Max (29) were more important to coach Dino Topmöller. Van de Beek showed good signs in his first three appearances for Eintracht. But overall it wasn’t enough. Against 1. FC Köln, van de Beek wasn’t even substituted on. The months-long break in play at former club Manchester United is apparently still having an impact.
VFB STUTTGART
Stuttgart can be happy: VfB has so far made the best loan deal from England with Brighton & Hove Albion. Deniz Undav (27) is currently the top German goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 13 goals. If Stuttgart wants, the striker can also be bought in the summer. The base sum should be €12m. No further clauses are known yet. I met Undav last week in Stuttgart for an interview. He told me that he feels very comfortable in Stuttgart and would like to stay.
With his goals, he can shoot Stuttgart into international competition. That would bring the necessary money into the club’s coffers. In his own words, he has Roberto de Zerbi to thank for his breakthrough. The striker didn’t know what he was doing wrong, when he was in Brighton. That’s why he went to the manager’s office. De Zerbi screamed at him for half an hour, he told me. After that, he knew what he had to change. Undav is still grateful to his former coach for this outburst of anger.