Bundesliga
Bayern’s goalkeeper carousel: who drives to the end?
Is David de Gea coming to Bayern? photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
Yann Sommer is gone, Manuel Neuer is not yet fit – and FC Bayern has an unresolved goalkeeper question. Is de Gea, Kepa or Bono coming? Lothar Matthäus and Dietmar Hamann agree.
FC Bayern is standing after the postponed comeback plans Manuel Neuer is under a lot of pressure – and shortly before the start of the Bundesliga season without a clear number one in goal.
A return of the 37-year-old national keeper is not in sight, even nine months after his serious skiing accident. On the contrary: in the last few days, media reports have accumulated that Neuer might not be ready for use until 2024.
Nobody wants to talk about how big the problems of the Munich goalkeeper really are. “Sport Bild” reported that internally there was talk of a “change of plan”. The goalkeeper question drives the Bayern bosses. With Yann Sommer, Alexander Nübel and Johannes Schenk, the Bundesliga club has already given up three goalkeepers in the current transfer period. In the Supercup duel with RB Leipzig, Munich will rely on Sven Ulreich on Saturday – but what happens afterwards? There are a few candidates.
David de Gea (without club)
With de Gea, Bayern would have a replacement who could be number 1 permanently. His application letter reads well: 545 competitive games for Manchester United, 45 games for the Spanish national team and titles in the Premier League, English Cup and Europa League. For Sky expert Dietmar Hamann, the 32-year-old without a club is the most likely solution. “He was an outstanding goalkeeper, he hasn’t forgotten that,” said Hamann. Lothar Matthäus also advocates de Gea.
Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea)
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel knows the Spanish national goalkeeper from his time at Chelsea. The 28-year-old, who has repeatedly commuted between the bench and the goal with the “Blues” in recent years, is said to be open to a change according to Sport1 information. With England only signing a promising goalkeeper in Robert Sanchez, Arrizabalaga should be able to leave if offered the right choice.
Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia FC)
The rumor about the Georgia national goalkeeper has persisted for weeks. Mamardashvili last stood between the posts at the U21 European Championship in his home country. In January 2022 he moved from Dinamo Tbilisi to Valencia, where he has played 63 games so far and still has a contract until 2027. At 22, Mamardashvili is the most inexperienced goalkeeper in Munich’s rumor mill. It seems unlikely that the German record champions will start the new season with him and Ulreich.
Bono (Seville FC)
Yassine Bounou “Bono” was a hot topic in Munich immediately after Neuer’s injury. After the impressive World Cup performance, the Moroccan national goalkeeper was too expensive for Bayern. Will the transfer task force strike this time? However, the value of the 32-year-old should not have dropped significantly after the mature performances in the Europa League final, when he led Sevilla to the title with two saved penalties. Bono’s contract in Spain runs for two more years.
Geronimo Rulli (Ajax Amsterdam)
The 31-year-old only switched from Villarreal to the Dutch record champions in January. Is the four-time Argentina national goalkeeper in Amsterdam just a short visit? According to Sky information, Ajax was informed that Rulli is an issue at Bayern. After the Dutch have reinforced with Frankfurt’s Diant Ramaj, Rulli could well be a candidate for surrender. In the last test against FC Augsburg, however, he left a weak impression.
David Raya (Brentford FC)
The speculation about David Raya should end soon. The 27-year-old is about to move to Arsenal. According to consistent English media reports, the English runner-up will pay almost 35 million euros including bonuses.