Bayern Munich are in a period of potential instability, and yet they are still one of the best teams in European football, given they knocked out Arsenal to reach another Champions League semifinal against 2021/22 winners Real Madrid.
Die Roten are faced with the prospect of Ralf Rangnick joining the team as Thomas Tuchel’s replacement in the manager’s chair. In other words, Sabener Straße has been turned upside down.
With the future of the manager uncertain, it’s hard to guess what the summer 2024 transfer window holds for Bayern Munich, but big changes could be coming to the center back position.
Bayern Munich are being linked with a number of top players from Bayer Leverkusen, with many fans around the world worried that Bayern will poach Die Werkself yet again, just as they did in the early 2000s when they took Michael Ballack and Lucio from a side that barely missed out on both the Bundesliga and Champions League.
For years, Bayern Munich were monitoring star center back Jonathan Tah, who has blossomed into a more assured and vocal center back under Xabi Alonso, finding his true quality as a one-time elite-seeming center back in Germany before stagnating into “just being solid”.
According to a report from BILD’s Christian Falk, if Bayern Munich were to sign Tah from Leverkusen, they would be open to sacrificing Dayot Upamecano in order to make that happen.
Upamecano is one of the most talented center backs in Europe and was better than Tah in the last several seasons, but he has become a magnet for criticism in 2023/24 due to repeated errors that have cost Bayern Munich games.
The thing is, Upamecano is three years younger than Tah. He’s also playing on a less cohesive team in the Bundesliga than Leverkusen. With a different approach from a new manager, the 2024/25 season could look a lot different for the 25-year-old Upamecano.
Furthermore, if Bayern Munich hire Ralf Rangnick, that could come to Upamecano’s benefit. He was one of the great young players Rangnick scouted and developed at RB Leipzig. He may see the Tah vs. Upamecano debate very differently than the current decision-makers in Bavaria.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.