Bayern Munich Faces Setbacks as Transfer Window Closes

Berlin, Sep 1 (AP) Bayern Munich’s pursuit of a backup for star forward Harry Kane remained active as the summer transfer window approached its closure on Monday. Bayern's efforts to bring Senegal forward Nicholas Jackson on loan from Chelsea fell through late Sunday due to an injury to his teammate Liam Delap, which caused a rethink of the arrangement. Although an agreement had reportedly been reached between the clubs, Delap's injury on Saturday halted proceedings. Chelsea insisted on a permanent transfer after reportedly recalling the player to London, while Bayern were firm on a loan, leaving both parties unable to find common ground. Club powerbroker Uli Hoeneß declared the preference for loan signings, avoiding additional massive expenditures following Luis Díaz's arrival from Liverpool. This decision came even amidst the departures of Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sané, complicating Bayern’s board member for sport Max Eberl’s attempts to strengthen the squad. Despite these challenges, Bayern's only notable transfers apart from Díaz were Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer. With the Nicholas Jackson deal failing, Bayern reportedly turned their attention to possible alternatives such as Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman and Leipzig's Loïs Openda, although the latter was believed to be on his way to Juventus.

All Change at Leverkusen It was an eventful summer for Leverkusen, witness to key transformations after losing star coach Xabi Alonso to Real Madrid. Florian Wirtz, initially pursued by Bayern, opted for Liverpool instead, a move followed by other significant players such as Granit Xhaka, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli, and Tah also exiting the squad. Piero Hincapie was anticipated to make a switch to Arsenal. In response, Leverkusen’s sporting director Simon Rolfes invested in a wave of promising talents including Morocco winger Eliesse Ben Seghir from Monaco, Loïc Badé from Sevilla, Malik Tillman from PSV Eindhoven, and Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin, alongside securing experienced players such as Lucas Vázquez from Real Madrid. Despite efforts, new coach Erik ten Hag faced uncertainty after failing to secure a win in the opening two Bundesliga games.

Stuttgart Signings Following the loss of Nick Woltemade to Newcastle, Enzo Millot to Saudi club Al-Ahli, and Germany forward Deniz Undav to injury, Stuttgart was reportedly in the market for South Korean forward Oh Hyeon-gyu from Genk and Moroccan attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss from Leicester City. ✍️ DDV

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