FC Bayern did not report a breakthrough in the king’s personal Yann Sommer shortly before leaving for the training camp in Qatar – but the Munich team surprised with the Dutch international Daley Blind.
The defender based on the left flank has signed a contract until the end of the season. The blind without a club is planned as a replacement for Lucas Hernández, who, like goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, will be out until the end of the season due to a cruciate ligament rupture. With the signing of the 32-year-old, Munich also have an experienced alternative to Alphonso Davies.
“Leadership skills”
“We are very pleased that Daley is joining our team. Daley is a flexible defender, he can play on the left as well as inside. He has great international experience and leadership qualities,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić. “I am sure that he will help us.”
Blind completed mandatory medical tests on Thursday. The new signing, who has been playing with a pacemaker since the end of 2019, will fly with the Munich team to the training camp in Qatar on Friday.
“I can’t wait to play here. We’re facing the most important part of the season, which is about the titles – and a club like FC Bayern can win any trophy,” said Blind in the gray hoodie when signing the contract . “The hunger for titles here at the club was decisive for my decision.”
Blind’s contract with Ajax Amsterdam was terminated shortly after Christmas. The son of former national player Danny Blind said goodbye to his youth club with critical words. “This is not how I imagined my end at Ajax, but due to circumstances it happened that way,” wrote the left-back at the time. According to media reports, Daley Blind has fallen out with coach Alfred Schreuder.
Experience of 99 international matches
The defender returned to Ajax in the summer of 2018 after four years at Manchester United. He played 99 international matches for the Netherlands. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Blind was in the starting eleven in all five games until the penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals against eventual world champions Argentina.
“As you know, I’m not a fan of the winter transfer period,” sporting director Salihamidžić recently told “Sport Bild”. “But a lot happened during the World Cup break, so I’m not ruling anything out.”
Frenchman Hernández tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in the World Cup opening game against Australia (4-1), and star striker Sadio Mané even had to miss the finals in the desert completely because of a tendon rupture on his right fibula head in early November.
Bayern bosses hope that the Senegalese will be ready for action again by the first leg of the Champions League on February 14 at Paris Saint-Germain. Goalkeeper Neuer, on the other hand, will be out until the end of the season after breaking his lower leg while on a skiing holiday. That’s why the people of Munich also want to get Sommer as a replacement.
Summer approaching
According to information from the pay-TV broadcaster Sky, the Swiss national goalkeeper and Bayern have agreed verbally on a change in winter. In Munich, the 34-year-old, whose contract is expiring, could sign a contract until the summer of 2025. The Swiss “Blick” had previously reported on this contract period. Those responsible for Sommer’s current club Borussia Mönchengladbach also knew about the agreement.
However, Gladbach will only give the go-ahead in winter if the club has found a suitable successor. Sommer’s compatriot Jonas Omlin from HSC Montpellier is said to be a hot candidate.
Whether summer or blind: the question will arise as to how they perform at Bayern. The winter transfers from Munich have been more or less effective in the past. There were short-term commitments like Alvaro Odriozola (2020 Real Madrid) or Landon Donovan (2009 Los Angeles Galaxy), once a dream player under short-term coach Jürgen Klinsmann, who cloud the balance sheet.
But then there were changes that helped Bayern Munich in the long term. The Brazilian Luiz Gustavo (2011 TSG Hoffenheim), for example, was a bank in defensive midfield, and the Canadian Davies has developed into a top performer since his transfer from MLS club Vancouver Whitecaps in January 2019.
