Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen will begin their title defence in one month’s time with a trip away to Borussia Mönchengladbach, and they are also looking to extend their unbeaten league run which lasted the entire 2023/24 season.
Head coach Xabi Alonso has moved in the market to bring in left winger Martin Terrier from Stade Rennais and midfielder Aleix Garcia from Girona FC. His existing group of players was magnificent last season, none more so than centre back Jonathan Tah, but now Alonso has a battle on his hands to keep his 28 year old vice-captain.
Bayern Munich are keen to sign Tah and the player has long been a fan of the Bavarians. The two clubs have been discussing a switch but have yet to reach an agreement; Die Werkself will not let one of their prized assets go without a fight…and a big fee. And Bayern are facing financial constraints, with board member Uli Hoeness recently saying the club needs to offload players before they can buy, and that means Tah is currently training with his team-mates in Leverkusen.
Another big hitter, Manchester United, has been reported to be ready to weigh in; apparently considering a move for Tah, as their pursuit of Bayern’s Dutch centre back Matthijs de Ligt is proving to be hard work.
Could this all mean that De Ligt starts the campaign in Munich and Tah in Leverkusen? Well, with four weeks to go there will be twists and turns in this story and we’ll keep up with all the news in our SBOTOP Bundesliga updates.
FC Bayern, now under the leadership of Vincent Kompany have already been spending, which may have prompted Hoeness’ intervention. Winger Michael Olise has flown in from Crystal Palace and midfield star Joao Palhinha has been signed from Fulham as the club aims to overhaul the squad which fell flat last season. Kompany is looking for a winger or attacking midfielder and has been pursuing Dutch sensation Xavi Simons, but it seems Simons is close to staying at Red Bull Leipzig for another season. So attention is turning to France where Stade Rennais forward Desire Doue is the target. Bayern will need to pay and 55m Euros and also fight off competition from Paris Saint-Germain for the highly rated 19 year old.
The latest Bundesliga 2024 betting odds back FC Bayern to regain their crown, lost last season after 11 successful campaigns…but I think they will struggle to depose the current kings of the Bundesliga.
Guler to Bayer?
Bayer Leverkusen will meet Die Bayern on Matchday Five; but in the meantime Alonso is still working on bringing more bodies in, and he is said to be considering a move for Real Madrid’s 19-year-old wing star Arda Guler. After arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu last summer the Turkish star only made 12 appearances but he had a fast finish to the campaign, scoring five goals in five games, to make it six in ten league appearances. And he carried that form into Euro 2024 with Turkey, scoring a belter in a 3-1 win over Georgia and making two assists in the knockout rounds.
In other Bundesliga 2024 news, Borussia Dortmund are considering a move for highly rated Manchester City right back Yan Couto. The Brazil international has been on loan at Girona where he received rave reviews at the Catalan club as they won Champions League football for the first time; and Girona head coach Michel would clearly love to keep the 22-year-old. An attacking wingback who loves to get forward, last season Couto made eight assists and countless successful forays into the attacking half, dribbling at pace and beating opposition defenders for fun.
He is a real talent and, at 22 years of age, has bags of potential, but his immediate future is uncertain as UEFA rules prohibit the Sky Blues from loaning Couto to their sister club Girona as both teams will be competing in the 2024/25 Champions League. There will be plenty of interest in the Brazilian who could struggle to get a starting place in Pep Guardiola’s star studded team. And reports in Germany suggest that Borussia Dortmund have made contact with officials at the Etihad but there is work to do in terms of coming to an agreement on figures.
City are said to value their player at £40m, which does not seem unreasonable in today’s valuations but Dortmund are determined to aim lower, with a fee of between £20m and £25m mooted. If they take a look at the deal to take Ian Maatsen, on loan at BVB last season, from Chelsea to Aston Villa, the fee agreed was £37.5m for the 22 year old who made just 16 appearances last season; Borussia may need to compromise to get Couto.
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