This is what I would be doing if I were Salihamidzic in the summer transfer window.

Updates are marked in ORANGE.

Squad

GK

Neuer, Früchtl – Neuer is the clear no.1, Früchtl will battle with Nübel for no.2

[UPDATE / signed] Nübel – has already been added and will compete with Früchtl for no.2

Ulreich – let him out of his contract for free

Defense

LB

Davies – clear no.1 LB with Hernandez and Alaba almost as good a backups.

LCB

Alaba, Hernandez – Alaba needs to be resigned, he is too good to leave and he is an original Bayern talent. Hernandez simply has not had a chance to show his skills yet and needs to work his way back to health.

RCB

Süle, Pavard – this will be a very close race, both are great players. It has been said that Bayern should get an extra CB, but I believe that there are some players in Bayern’s 2nd team and U19 that could fill the gap, especially Lars Lucas Mai, Chris Richards and Bright Arrey-Mbi.

Boateng – Selling Boateng could be a difficult decision given that he has been playing so well under Flick, but when Süle comes back, he and Pavard will be fighting for that RCB spot and I don’t see any space for Boa. Better to give a talent a shot if someone gets injured.

RB

Odriozola – hasn’t even played a full game, will probably return to Madrid without ever doing so.

Da Costa – there is lots of talk about signing a RB but no one has mentioned Danny da Costa. He might be 26, but if you want a RB who brings a similar dynamic to Davies then he is the guy for the job.

[UPDATE / NEW] Max Aarons – Since Hakimi was signed I decided to have another look around and stumbled upon Aarons, who I knew, but wasn’t on my radar at the moment. You might be thinking: who is this guy? and that would be fair enough, because he is a pretty unknown commodity playing for Norwich City, but he is a highly explosive talent at right back with the right speed, aggression and offensive power to compliment Davies on the left. He is also only 20 years young and could therefore be the better option compared to Da Costa.

[UPDATE: signed with Inter] Hakimi – alternatively Hakimi could be a fantastic addition. Explosive winger/RB hybrid similar to Davies. Could take the next step after Dortmund. I feel like he wants to be at Real Madrid, but I just don’t see them giving him a shot, so him coming to Bayern and being a starter could be a great option for him. Good thing for Bayern is that he can play both RB and LB if he needs to.

Midfield

CDM

Kimmich, Stiller – Kimmich is the undisputed no.1 in DM. But there is no clear no.2 with Martinez being too old. That is where Angelo Stiller comes in. He plays for the second team of Bayern and this could be a spot where Bayern manage to bring up some quality youth.

[UPDATE / signed] Kouassi – Bayern have signed Tanguy Kouassi for free from Paris. He is listed as a CB, but since we have some much strength and depth I see him more as a midfielder.

Martinez – he is getting on and as much as I love him for what he has meant for the club I think the time has come for him to go.

CM

Goretzka, Cuissance – Kimmich’s best bud Goretzka is not looking like anyone is about to push him out of the starting lineup, but he does have a knack for getting injured. That is where Cuissance could come in as an option, he is naturally more of an 8 than a 6, but could probably also help out in CDM if needed.

Thiago, Tolisso – Thiago isn’t there in big games and makes too many easy mistakes. For me he is a liability. Tolisso never really put his talent on the pitch consistently. At this point it might be best for him to start again somewhere else.

CAM

Müller – Müller is back to his dominance and perhaps better than never before, looking set to break the all time assist record for the Bundesliga. He is an icon at Bayern, but in fairness he is getting on a bit.

Coutinho – Coutinho has done nothing to leave a lasting impression and get re-signed.

Havertz – the best German talent, if not one of the best in Europe. As I mentioned above Müller is getting on a bit and Havertz should be the one to take his spot. A young and hungry midfield trio of Kimmich, Goretzka and Havertz could be a golden future for both club and country.

Ikone – Imagine Tolisso but faster, more skilled and less injury prone and you have Ikone. High intensity player who would fit great into the Bayern Squad. if Havertz is not available this should be the alternative.

Attack

Wingers

Gnabry, Coman – all of the 4 wingers named in this section can play both wings, except for maybe Perisic who plays far better on the left. All 4 also bring an injury history, so having 4 quality players is essential. The wingers are such an important part of the Bayern game and you need at least 2 to be healthy and available at all times.

Perisic – Perisic should be retained from his loan because he has proven to be a reliable backup.

[UPDATE / Signed] Sane – I really hope he comes to Bayern. he would be a fantastic fit. a winging combo of him and Gnabry would be outstanding. // Since writing this Sane has been signed at great value for around 50 million. With the sale of a couple of players, it might even be possible to sign Havertz.

ST

Lewi, Zirkzee, Arp – Lewandowski, like Kimmich and Neuer are the players who are very difficult to get off the pitch. But, Lewi is not the youngest anymore. Bayern will still get some good years out of him, but at this point they need to start building up someone to eventually succeed him. I think that if Bayern do everything right, that should be Joshua Zirkzee. I think that he is one of the top 3 most talented players in our youth system and he has the potential to be out next great dutch striker.

 

Starting lineup

Neuer

Aarons, Pavard, Alaba, Davies

Kimmich, Goretzka, Müller

Gnabry, Sane, Lewandowski

 

2nd Team

Früchtl/Nübel

Pavard, Süle, Hernandez, Alaba

Stiller/Kouassi, Cuissance, Havertz

Coman, Perisic, Zirkzee/Arp

 

The moves

Odriozola + Coutinho = back to club

Free Agent Loss = Ulreich

Free Agent Addition = Nübel, Kouassi

Sell Boateng + Tolisso + Martinez + Thiago = 10-15 + 20-30 + 10-15 + 30-40 = 70 – 100mil

Buy Aarons + Ikone / Havertz + Sane + Perisic = 20-30 + 30-35 / 80-90 + 50 + 15-18 = 115 – 188mil / preferred = 178 – 188mil

With my preferred signings, the bottom line = -78 to -118mil which is basically the same as saying that the Havertz signing is coming out of the “Festgeldkonto”.

 

What these moves do:

– gives you 2 explosive wingbacks (Davies, Aarons), each with a backup who won the World cup at the position (Pavard, Hernandez). You even have a third high class option if things get really bad in two former players of the position (Alaba, Kimmich).

– gives you 4 top CBs in their prime (Alaba, Pavard, Süle, Hernandez), with quality waiting in the youth system too (Arrey-Mbi, Mai, Richards, Kouassi).

– gets rid of 2 players who were on loan and didn’t really do anything (Coutinho, Odriozola)

– resigns the loan player who did have an impact (Perisic).

– sures up the wings with players who can perform at the highest level (Sane and the aforementioned Perisic).

– reduces the age in midfield (sell Martinez, Thiago, Tolisso) of players who are not anymore, or never really did perform, at their peak. This opens up the space for top young talents both from the youth system (Stiller) and outside (Havertz, Cuissance, Kouassi).

 

The bottom line is that the gaps in the squad are plugged (RB, winger), aging or underachieving players are moved on, quality in depth is added and there are some more spots open for youth players.