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Joao Palhinha of Fulham - Brighton & Hove Albion v Fulham, Premier League, Amex Stadium, Brighton, UK - 29th October 2023.

7 transfer targets Bayern Munich missed out on in the summer & how they’ve fared this season

Michael Lee •

Bayern Munich’s capture of Tottenham and England captain Harry Kane dominated the headlines during the summer transfer window, but we are more interested in those players who didn’t end up moving to Bavaria.

Despite retaining their Bundesliga title, Bayern flopped against Manchester City in last season’s Champions League and Thomas Tuchel reinforced his squad with the signing of Kane and Napoli centre-back Kim Min-Jae.

But we’ve taken a closer look at seven of their reported transfer targets from over the summer and assessed how they’ve fared in 2023-24 so far.

Joao Palhinha

You’ll remember Palhinha looking gutted at Munich airport on Deadline Day after his proposed move from Fulham fell through due to the Premier League side being unable to find a sufficient replacement.

But the 28-year-old has recovered from the disappointment and continues to impress at Craven Cottage, despite his side’s poor form this term.

“I don’t know what will happen in the future,” Palhinha told O Jogo recently. “Obviously, it’s really affected me and my family, but that’s all in the past, I don’t want to think about it too much.

“It’s a great source of pride, you know what happened. In my life everything that has happened has been for a reason, I like to think of it like that.”

Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund confirmed that the club remain interested in the player who has registered more tackles than anyone else in the Premier League this season.

David Raya

Raya was linked with a host of big clubs following his fine performances for Brentford, with Bayern submitting a loan bid for the goalkeeper as they sought to provide cover for Manuel Neuer.

But the Bees knocked back the bid and Raya eventually joined Arsenal on a season-long loan with the option to make the move permanent.

He’s displaced Aaron Ramsdale as the club’s starting goalkeeper, but a few shaky displays have seen many question the wisdom of having two high-quality goalkeepers on the books.

“The problem is David Raya has started to look a little nervy in the last few games, he’s started to make mistakes,” Gary Neville said last month.

“You’ve got two goalkeepers of equal ability and you don’t know which one’s your number one, you’ve got an issue. Trust me.”

Eric Dier

Having been marginalised by Ange Postecoglou, Spurs offered Dier to several clubs in the summer and Bayern were one of those that registered an interest in the defender.

Tuchel was attracted to Dier’s versatility and low cost, but Bayern were unable to secure his signature.

Having made just two appearances this season, and with his Spurs contract due to expire in June, it wouldn’t be too surprising if the Bundesliga giants re-ignited their interest in the 29-year-old.

Conor Gallagher

Bayern were one of several clubs interested in signing Gallagher, but a deal never materialised as Mauricio Pochettino was keen to keep the England international in his squad.

The 23-year-old has repaid Pochettino’s faith with several accomplished performances in Chelsea’s midfield, shining alongside £100million team-mates Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, and has become one of the side’s most important players.

Trevoh Chalobah

As Chelsea looked to sell all their homegrown youngsters for sweet FFP profit, Chalobah was heavily linked with a move to Germany by several sources.

Like Dier, Tuchel was drawn to the player’s versatility, but no deal could be agreed upon over the summer.

The 24-year-old has slipped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge and reportedly remains keen to join Bayern, who are still desperate to add defensive cover to their squad. One to watch in January.

Armel Bella-Kotchap

Southampton achieved a significant coup when they convinced Bella-Kotchap to join the club in 2022, but the highly-rated defender was unable to prevent the Saints from getting relegated from the Premier League.

A player of international quality was never likely to stick around in the Championship and Bayern were thought to be in pole position to acquire the 21-year-old.

But, despite selling Benjamin Pavard to Inter Milan to make space for him, Bella-Kotchap ended up at PSV Eindhoven but has struggled to make an impact so far.

“He can’t handle the level yet. You can see that in him,” the former PSV, Ajax and Anderlecht coach told the Eindhovens Dagblad.

“He is unhappy. Balls jump away (out of his control) at the first pass, and he cannot make good play-in passes. The level is very high.”

Lutsharel Geertruida

Another player touted as a replacement for Pavard, 23-year-old Geertruida was an accomplished member of Feyenoord’s Eredivisie-winning squad last season and has won six caps for the Netherlands.

He remains in Rotterdam this season, making five appearances and scoring one goal at the time of writing.

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