Bayern Munich may have already signed David Alaba’s replacement

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Despite rumours to the contrary, Bayern Munich may have already signed their replacement for David Alaba. 

The Austrian international’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and it now seems certain that Alaba will leave the current German and European champions. 

Real Madrid are reportedly in pole position to sign the 28-year-old defender, but Barcelona are also apparently interested in making a contract offer to Alaba and his representatives once they have elected a new president. 

As such, the rumour mill has spunt out a few suggestions as to who Bayern should now target as a potential replacement for Alaba. 

Some reports have suggested that the Bundesliga giants should turn their attention towards Madrid’s own young and exciting central defender, Eder Militao, who has been struggling for game time this season. 

Another option seems to be RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano, who Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently declared an interest in when telling SportBild that Bayern “will of course deal with it, not only with this player, but in principle, on the positions where we want to do and have to do something.”

However, Bayern coach Hansi Flick has since suggested that Bayern may not need to make any big-money signings in the summer at all, and could instead turn to a defender they signed in 2019: Lucas Hernandez. 

Although Hernandez has predominantly played as a left-back since joining the club from Atletico Madrid for a reported fee of around £72 million, the French international has at times filled in at centre back when called upon. 

Before moving to Munich, Hernandez also made his name in Madrid as an exceptional defender that could play in the middle of defence just as easily as he could on the flank. Indeed, 56 of the defender’s 110 appearances for the Spanish giants came at centre back. 

“I trust him to do it,” Flick recently told TZ when asked if Hernandez could be a long-term solution at centre back if Alaba left. It would certainly save Bayern a lot of money in the summer and finally make use of a player that still holds the record as the club’s most expensive signing.