The hustle and bustle on the penultimate transfer day did not go unnoticed by the record champions, who were in trouble. According to consistent media reports, FC Bayern will sign Portuguese national defender João Cancelo on loan in good time before Tuesday, which has since been dubbed “Deadline Day”.
The 28-year-old from Manchester City would be by far the biggest name on the German market in recent days – according to the PA news agency, the price tag of the purchase option should be 70 million euros.
So far, the other Bundesliga clubs have looked (d) in lower price ranges, anyway, with few exceptions, this transfer winter has oscillated between emergency purchases by the crisis clubs and young prospective players. The relegation-threatened VfB Stuttgart signed midfielder Genki Haraguchi from 1. FC Union Berlin and offensive man Gil Dias from Benfica Lisbon, at Hertha BSC the new sports director Benjamin Weber is said to be allowed to spend a single-digit million amount for new staff.
One of the professionals traded in Berlin, Maximilian Philipp, preferred to switch from VfL Wolfsburg to Werder Bremen. Winger Gauthier Hein from AJ Auxerre from the French Ligue 1, on the other hand, is said to be in Berlin. Champions League round of 16 Eintracht Frankfurt is said to be dealing with Philipp Max from the Dutch first division club PSV Eindhoven – also because Junior Dina Ebimbe (Syndesmoseriss) has been out for a long time. Meanwhile, PSV could be a buyer for Borussia Dortmund’s Thorgan Hazard. It is unclear whether cup winners RB Leipzig will do it again after injury to top performer Dani Olmo.
At Bayern, too, there were and are injuries to permanent staff that made access necessary. The Dutchman Daley Blind came in particular because Lucas Hernández (torn cruciate ligament) will be out for a long time, goalkeeper Yann Sommer was brought from Borussia Mönchengladbach, accompanied by great media interest, because Manuel Neuer broke his leg while ski touring. In addition to Hernández, Moroccan Noussair Mazraoui will be out for a few more weeks due to an inflammation of the pericardium.
Cancelo, who played on both the right and left flank for the English team, has had a difficult time under coach Pep Guardiola in recent weeks regularly counted among the permanent staff. Cancelo switched from Juventus Turin to the Cityzens in 2019 for an estimated 65 million euros and became champion with the club in 2021 and 2022.
