Why Bayern will beat Liverpool and Man Utd to Gravenberch signing this summer
FT Desk
- 1 Mar 2022 16:12 GMT
- 4 min read
Bayern Munich are reportedly leading the chase for one of Europe's most exciting midfield talents.
There are few players in European football with as much potential as Ajax star Ryan Gravenberch and a number of the continent’s biggest clubs are well aware of that.
Both Manchester United and Liverpool have reportedly been tracking the player for some time now and were even put off a potential bid this summer when news broke late last year that Gravenberch would sign a new deal with the Dutch giants.
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However, the Netherland’s international has now changed his mind and is interested in pursuing a potential move to a bigger club. But unfortunately for the Premier League pair, it doesn’t seem as though either Old Trafford or Anfield is what he has in mind.
Bayern leading the race for Gravenberch
According to Dutch sports journalist Mike Verweij, Gravenberch’s desire to leave Ajax will be based on him joining a “great plan” at another club and as such Bayern Munich are leading the race to sign the young midfielder.
- @MikeVerweij: "Ajax want 25 to 30 million for Gravenberch and that's a lot of money for someone with one year of contract. It could be a problem if he doesn't play or hardly plays for the rest of the season. Then it's questionable what fee Bayern will pay in the coming summer"
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) February 21, 2022
The Bundesliga giants already have talented midfielders in Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka but beyond that the Bavarian club are limited in their options. New signing Marcel Sabitzer hasn’t quite performed since joining from RB Leipzig in the summer, while Corentin Tolisso and Marco Roca are both expected to depart in the summer.
As such, Bayern are in desperate need of a new midfielder and have apparently thrown all of their eggs into one basket with regards to Gravenberch.
According to Verweij, despite only having one year left on his contract, the Ajax midfielder would demand an asking price of around €25-30 million in the summer transfer window.
Following the report from the Netherlands, sports journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn met the midfielder's agent in Monaco to discuss terms ahead of the summer window.
Oliver Kahn was in Monaco to hold a meeting with Mino Raiola. One of the topics discussed was Ryan Gravenberch. At the moment, Bayern are in contact with the player's side to discuss a contract proposal, but still no offer to Ajax. Nothing is advanced yet [@FabrizioRomano] pic.twitter.com/lp0WB5vgnb
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) March 1, 2022
Why would he pick Bayern over Man Utd or Liverpool?
There’s little doubt that Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side could be extremely tempted to Gravenberch, but at Bayern the midfielder would have a much clearer route to the first team and regular game time each week.
Naturally, Man Utd would be able to match anything Bayern or Liverpool would be able to offer, but unlike the aforementioned European rivals, the Old Trafford side are in no position to suggest that they will be challenging for major trophies next season.
As such, if Gravenberch is indeed on the hunt for a new “great plan” and regular game time, a move to Bayern seems to make far more sense this summer.
