Bitter deadline day for FC Bayern – Tuchel’s wishes remain unfulfilled
Damper for Bayern – Tuchel’s dream player doesn’t come after all
FC Bayern is experiencing a bitter final day of the transfer window and has to make do without any new signings. The change from Thomas Tuchel’s dream player Joao Palhinha also failed surprisingly.
The final transfer spurt ended in bitter disappointment at Bayern Munich. The completion of the wish-six did not happen. Even the hoped-for right-back does not come. The club was up against at least three players on Deadline Day. One already posed in the new jersey.
SThey wanted João Palhinha, they wanted Armel Bella-Kotchap, and at times Bayern officials even tried to bring Joao Cancelo back. But at the end of the deadline day, the German record champions were empty-handed.
FC Bayern Munich’s preparations for the top Bundesliga game against feared opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach had been overshadowed by recent hectic activities on the transfer market for a long time – and ended in bitter disappointment on Friday evening. “We try to complement and strengthen our team. It seems to be a last-minute decision,” said coach Thomas Tuchel on Friday, a few hours before the end of the transfer period in Germany, about the million-dollar commitment of Portuguese João Palhinha from FC Fulham. Tuchel sounded very confident.
However, by the deadline of 6 p.m. FC Bayern could not report any completion. According to “Sky” and “Kicker”, the change burst, although Palhinha was already in Munich and had completed the medical check. Photos are said to have been taken of him in the Bayern jersey.
Must reschedule: Thomas Tuchel’s wishes were not fulfilled
Source: dpa/Peter Kneffel
A contract was therefore already negotiated. The 28-year-old should become the purely defensive six in the Munich squad so much desired by Tuchel. More than 50 million euros should be paid for Palhinha. Allegedly, there hasn’t been a green light from Fulham that didn’t find a Palhinha replacement at short notice.
After the departures of Benjamin Pavard (Inter Milan) and Josip Stanisic (on loan to Leverkusen), the German record champions were still looking for a defensive player who could defend on the right outside and inside. “That’s a big gap that’s there,” said Tuchel. One candidate should be Southampton FC international Armel Bella-Kotchap. In between, even a return campaign by Joao Cancelo was an issue again. None of the transfers could be fixed.
Cancelo already played for Bayern in the second half of last season. In the summer, however, he had to move on again, as otherwise the record champions would have had to pay 70 million euros for him. So high was the purchase clause in the loan. However, he is now moving to FC Barcelona.
Gravenberch goes to Liverpool
In the press conference for the Gladbach game, Tuchel said goodbye to Dutch international Ryan Gravenberch. The 21-year-old midfielder was about to move to Liverpool. The “main problem” in Munich for the player was that there is no offensive eighth position in Bayern’s game system, says Tuchel. “Ryan sees Liverpool’s 4-3-3 as an opportunity to fight for his place.”
Gravenberch joined from Ajax Amsterdam for 18.5 million euros a year ago and is now set to move to England for more than double the price. Gravenberch is a “nice guy” and a “hardworking, talented player,” said Tuchel. However, he “quarreled” with his unsatisfactory reserve role with the record champions.