For more than a decade, Manuel Neuer was Bayern Munich’s last line of defense. The kind of goalkeeper capable of transcending his defenders and changing the fate of a match with a save. Yes, but now, since a fracture in his right leg contracted while he was ski touring after the pitiful elimination of Germany at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the 37-year-old goalkeeper has still not found the goal of the Bayern and very smart who can say if he will be able to do it again, and above all at what level.
If Sven Ulreich is doing a more than adequate interim this season after that of Yann Sommer during the second part of the 2022-23 season, the latter does not appear to be a viable long-term solution at the age of 35. Bayern Munich is well aware of this and is preparing for the future. And the Bavarian club has clearly identified its main target, a certain Gregor Kobel. As is often the case at Bayern, the solution comes from the Bundesliga and more precisely from Borussia Dortmund, Bayern’s sworn enemy.
Bayern are already talking to the player’s entourage
At 25, the Swiss goalkeeper, current understudy in the selection of… Yann Sommer, the former goalkeeper of Bayern, is considered in Germany as one of the future great goalkeepers of the championship. Although he had an incredible performance last spring against the same Bavarian club, Kobel, who has all the baggage of a modern goalkeeper, is very appreciated at the BvB, to the point of having obtained a contract extension accompanied by a very nice salary increase.
So a way to dismiss the reigning German champions? It is a poor understanding of Bayern who really want to recruit the goalkeeper trained at Grasshoppers Zurich, and revealed to VFB Stuttgart who ended up selling him to Dortmund for €15 million during the summer of 2021. Since his arrival in the Ruhr club , Kobel continues to progress. With 67% saves for his first season at Dortmund, he rose to 75% last season and was key in Dortmund’s good season last year. He was even one of the highest rated players in the championship.
But obviously the Swiss doorman will have a price and should cost a small fortune. According to our information, a sum ranging between €70 and €80 million could be requested by Borussia Dortmund to let their goalkeeper leave. Nothing to move Bayern Munich, which has already established contacts with the player’s entourage…
