The Bayern Insider: Bayern have new plan for Olise after Kane contract breakthrough
Welcome to today’s exclusive & comprehensive round-up of all things Bayern Munich from Bayern insider Christian Falk. Featuring updates on Aleksandar Pavlović, Michael Olise, Tim Binder, and Harry Kane.
Today’s top stories
Was Aleksandar Pavlović a serious transfer target for Man City?
What’s the state of play with Michael Olise’s contract talks?
Which Bayern Munich youngsters should fans be keeping an eye on?
And plenty more on Ismael Saibari, Sacha Boey, Hiroki Ito & Tom Bischof
It was a good opening game for Bayern in the DFB Pokal. Osnabrück made it very difficult for Vincent Kompany’s men. They play in the second league in Germany and they started with what was, in Harry Kane’s words, a dream goal – a crazy goal! He said the striker, Robin Meißner, will talk about this goal for a long, long time. He was right; it was indeed great. But Harry Kane was also on form in the cup, scoring twice (one from open play and another from the penalty spot). Kane’s so reliable from the penalty spot, you could be forgiven for thinking he was a German!
Ranking Bayern Munich’s summer transfer window
We tend to use school marks in Germany – we have 1-6 (one being the best and six being the worst). So, I think I’d give Bayern’s summer window a two (or a B grade in England). That’s because it was a very quick transfer market for Bayern Munich in terms of what they brought in. Ismael Saibari was a good deal at €50m [£42.9m] completed quickly, which could have become more expensive if they’d waited for the World Cup to fully transpire. Nathaniel Brown was also a very interesting signing for €50m [£42.9m]. I think he has a future in the German national team, so he’s one to watch.
Max Eberl, the head of sport, was also tasked with selling players this summer, and it worked quite well, I think. The players are off the wage bill and I believe Bayern brought in about €60m-65m [£51.5m-55.8m]. I think Bayern were hoping to get more, especially for players like Joao Palhinha, but in the end, they’re happy to have had a major clearout. Now we have to see what happens with Sacha Boey.
Is this Bayern squad good enough to win the Champions League?
Yes, I think Bayern Munich were already very happy with the team they had, but it was always the case that there weren’t enough players in the squad. The first-XI was really top, top, top – the gap between FC Bayern and PSG in the Champions League semi-final last season was incredibly tight. Bayern Munich simply needed more players. It’s interesting that some of the players the Ligue 1 champions went on to sign and sell this summer – Mika Godts and Bradley Barcola – were also on the list of Bayern Munich. In the end, they decided to go for Ismael Saibari, and they got him. The Moroccan is a fantastic option to address concerns around the squad, as they need a backup for Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala.
So, I think FC Bayern are stronger than they were last year, and perhaps strong enough to beat PSG this year. Beyond that, I don’t think there are many teams in world football who could beat Bayern. I’m sorry, Manchester United – you’re playing against us in the Champions League. Arsenal, we want revenge, and this time it’s in Munich. So, beware!
The latest state of play with Harry Kane’s contract talks
Harry Kane was our winner of the football star of the year at the Sport Bild Awards. The England striker was at the Zoom call live, while his father, Pat, attended the ceremony at the Fischauktionshalle in Hamburg. I talked with Herbert Hainer, the club president, about the situation and everyone was saying, ‘relax’; everyone thinks a new contract will just be a matter of time. There are a few questions around contract talks that have to be cleared but everyone is confident that things will work out. I think in the next month – absolutely this year, not next year – we’ll see a contract announcement. I’m really sure that Kane will put pen to paper on an extension this side of 2026. Then, Harry Kane is off the market for every other club for a long time. Sorry again to his long-time admirers, Manchester United!
Michael Olise’s long-term future at Bayern
Max Eberl’s strategy is always to make one contract after another. The first order of business is getting Harry Kane to extend, and then you have a big argument to make to Michael Olise along the lines of, Hey, the best striker in the world is staying at Bayern Munich. So why don’t you also sign a new contract? That’s one big argument. If Real Madrid also fail to improve their performances in the Champions League this season, then there aren’t so many arguments to be made in favour of a transfer to the Spanish capital. So, that’s the hope of Bayern Munich; time will prove telling for Olise.
In the meantime, you can see he’s playing well on the pitch and he looks far from disappointed about a move not materialising this summer. However, as you see now, things just weren’t particularly concrete. Now, I hope he’ll sign a new contract, as he only really has until next summer to do so. I don’t think Bayern Munich will take the risk of letting his contract run down from two years, as there’s a lot of money that stands to be left on the table. Ultimately, they need that kind of cash if they’re forced to search for a replacement.
One option in that regard was Bradley Barcola who ended up signing for Liverpool this summer. The France international was a serious option in case Olise left in the window. So, Bayern Munich is now pushing hard to get Michael Olise on fresh terms, as there’s simply no player like the right winger available on the market.
Should Bayern be more anxious about Olise’s contract?
There were times at Bayern Munich when they were very proud that there was no release clause attached to any contract. But last year, there were more than a few and it’s now the way of things in Munich. Jamal Musiala – who we hope is getting better soon – has a release clause in his contract. So this could be an idea for Michael Olise if he signs a new contract. However, I can say that any release clause that may be attached to the winger’s contract will be very, very high. If any club chooses to activate this, Bayern will have a lot of money on the table to put towards a successor. At the moment, he has a contract that isn’t as lucrative as the likes of Harry Kane’s or Jamal Musiala’s. So this is also a good argument for Bayern Munich to try and persuade the player to stay. Either way, I think Bayern Munich would be fine with a release clause as long as we’re discussing figures like €150m, €200m, or €250m.
Manchester City register Aleksandar Pavlović interest
This is an exclusive story I can share with you all. It’s very interesting because it was incredibly concrete. Manchester City had Aleksandar Pavlović as their number one option for the position. First talks were already in March and they said they could pay €100m [£85.8m]. This was just the starting idea, it could have been more. Pavlović took time to decide – he’s very young at 22 – and told City he needed to think about it. In the end, he decided to stay at Bayern Munich. So, there was no concrete offer at Bayern Munich, but the club was more than aware of the interest. In the end, with Pavlović having made his position clear, Manchester City decided to move on to their number two on the list, which was Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille. They paid €95m [£81.5m], so you see how much they would have spent on Aleksandar Pavlović. If he’d said yes, he’d have been a Manchester City player by now, so you can see just how concrete it was. In the end, he decided for Bayern Munich.
Everton wanted to sign Sacha Boey & Hiroki Ito offered to Ajax
There was interest in Sacha Boey from Hamburg and Fulham. But I can tell you that the most concrete interest came from Everton! Everton were really close. There were talks with the side of Bayern Munich, with Max Eberl, but in the end, the Toffees decided for Ainsley Maitland-Niles from Lille on deadline day. This was hard for Bayern Munich, as they really thought they could offload the player. So, Bayern Munich now have to look and see if there’s an opportunity to move the player on to a club in Turkey or Saudi Arabia, where the transfer market still remains open (until Friday). But Everton would have been the big hope for FC Bayern in terms of getting a deal for Boey. In the end, the deal was off.
Bayern were open to selling Hiroki Ito this summer if a big offer materialised, however, in the end, interested suitors Ajax only wanted the player on loan. So, there just wasn’t really an option at any time. In that case, FC Bayern weren’t keen on this deal, as they still need a player like this in the squad. If Ajax had been prepared to pay a lot of money for him, that would have been an idea. But in the end, Christoph Freund, the sporting director, said it was not close. I think it’s because Ajax wanted a loan. In the end, they decided on a loan deal for a German player, Thilo Kehrer, from AS Monaco. So, you see what the idea of Ajax was and this just didn’t match up with what Bayern were looking for.
Young Bayern stars to keep an eye out for in 2026/27
It’s worth keeping an eye on Tim Binder, Maycon Cardozo, and Bara Ndiaye. Tom Bischof, while not quite a youngster any more as a potential national team player, is also worth keeping at the front of our minds. The midfielder also scored in the cup and is really good, but he’s a bit ahead of the aforementioned talents. I personally don’t consider him a “talent” anymore; I think he’s a good player.
Really do keep an eye on Binder. I see many similarities to Lennart Karl. He’s sadly injured at the moment, so I hope he’s back in the next week or two weeks. The teenager has similar skills to Karl. He’s not completely the same player; Karl will go in the box and score himself, whereas Binder likes to go to the line and play the ball in for assists. He’s also a real threat in one-on-one situations. I think he could be a real jewel for the season! I hope the footballer stays fit, then he’ll get playing time and perhaps we’ll have the next Lennart Karl on our hands.
