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After losing Thiago Alcantara, Ivan Perišić, Philippe Coutinho, and the highly decorated Álvaro Odriozola, Bayern Munich needed some new players to step in. In the last days of the transfer window, contracts were signed with Tiago Dantas, Douglas Costa, Bouna Sarr, and Marc Roca. However, there were other names on Bayern’s transfer list for each of these positions.
Bayern Munich sports director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić recently revealed in an article to Sport Bild, that the Bavarians keep a “shadow list” of all the transfer eligible players which the club are keeping tabs on. This list included several backup plans for each position. Last week, BFW talked about Bayern’s “shadow team” and how it came into play near the end of the transfer window.
Now, we have the real list.
For the right back position, USMNT product Sergiño Dest was given priority before he decided for Barcelona. The backup options were Bouna Sarr (Olympique Marseille), Mitchell Weiser (Bayer Leverkusen), Ridle Baku (Mainz 05 then Wolfsburg), Max Aarons (Norwich City), and Tariq Lamptey (Brighton & Hove Albion). Bayern Munich opted for the more experienced option with Sarr, who signed a four-year deal with the club.
Bayern had several backup plans for each position. For the RB position, the priority was Sergiño Dest with the backups being Bouna Sarr (Marseille), Mitchell Weiser (Leverkusen), Ridle Baku (Mainz then Wolfsburg), Max Aarons (Norwich) and Tariq Lamptey (Brighton) [@SPORTBILD]
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) October 21, 2020
The shadow list for the midfield included Denis Zakaria (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Marc Roca (Espanyol), Tiago Dantas (Benfica), and Lucien Agoumé (Inter Milan, on loan at Spezia). In the end, Die Roten picked up two young options in Dantas and Roca. Of course, the clear standout candidate was Zakaria, who is also being observed by several top clubs.
The Swiss international has a contract with Gladbach until 2022, but a move away seems like the eventual outcome. Zakaria is a sure thing, but he would’ve cost Bayern a pretty penny. Judging on the current global situation, the board was going to be fiscally smart. As much as I would love to see Zakaria playing for Bayern, signing Roca was a great long-term move at an absolute bargain.
Obtaining a backup striker was given the least priority, due to Lewandowski’s consistently dominant presence. This “shadow list” was the shortest and included Andrej Kramarić of Hoffenheim. Unfortunately, he was quickly scratched off the list due to the high fee being demanded. Things worked out, as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting came on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain.