By Klaus Bergmann and Christian Kunz, dpa l Friday, April 21, 2023
MUNICH – Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer has named the signing of a top striker a priority for the off-season after their latest Champions League exit while CEO Oliver Kahn had to reiterate they had tried everything to get Erling Haaland last year.
Norway’s Haaland was in Munich on Wednesday but on the opposing end as he scored Manchester City’s opener – after missing a penalty – in a 1-1 draw that saw the English champions reach the semi-finals 4-1 on aggregate.
Bayern were not outplayed over the two legs and had their chances but a lack of precision in front of goal hurt them and showed again that they haven’t manage to fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski’s departure for Barcelona in 2022. Kahn insisted post-match that “we tried everything in the run-up to the season to fill the number nine again, including with a nine that we saw today, unfortunately not on our side.
“It is not so easy to fill this position. You don’t find a number nine like Robert Lewandowski just like this,” Kahn said.
“How many number nines are there at the level of Robert Lewandowski? There are not so many. And if there are, they are in extremely high price regions.”
Haaland would have been an adequate replacement for the Polish marksman but decided to join City from Borussia Dortmund, and has become an instant hit there by scoring 48 goals in all competitions.
Bayern got Sadio Mane from Liverpool up front but he is not a proper striker, and while board member for sport Hasan Salihamidzic said that “we have a world class squad” he also conceded that “we will reconsider our squad planning.”
For Hainer, it is clear that a striker must have priority in these plans, with speculation ranging from England captain Harry Kane and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen to Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani.
“It was obvious that we simply don’t score enough goals at the moment, that we don’t have the striker who nets up front,” Hainer said.
But he also conceded there is no easy solution, saying: “If you can name someone who would be an instant hit we would buy him immediately.” Hainer pledged the club would bolster the squad to play for the Champions League title again, but first Bayern must make sure that they don’t come up empty-handed this term.
They are out of the Champions League and German Cup and only hold a slender two-point lead over Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga where they visit mid-table Mainz on Saturday.
“We can build on the energy, but we know on Saturday we’ve got opponents in Mainz who have had a week’s rest. That’s the main focus now, not dwelling on this bitter exit for too long,” forward Thomas Müller said.
