Bayern Munich have made some groundbreaking moves by signing the likes of Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt in this summer transfer window. The Bavarians are looking to start a new era under Julian Nagelsmann, an era without their talismanic striker Robert Lewandowski. While people expect big things from the record German champions in the upcoming season, their former chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is not sure about both the star signings. He made some shocking revelations about both the players who have newly joined the club.
Rummenigge does not understand the fact why Hasan Salihamidzic signed them in the first place and why he praises them as world class signings. He believes that Mane is already 30 years old and is already on the decline. If the case was different he feels Klopp would have done much more to hold the Senegalese at Anfield for a couple of more seasons.
Although he believes that Mane will come good in the Bundesliga and score a lot of goals, he feels De Ligt has lost development years despite being only 22 years old. The fact that he spent his early years at Ajax and then wasted three seasons at Juventus means he has lost a lot of time developing into a better defender. Rummenigge is not sure if the Dutchman can be called the leader in defence for Bayern just as of now. He feels that Bayern should have worked more in keeping Niklas Sule.
“Why has Hasan Salihamidzic & Co. been praised recently for their summer transfers? Honestly, I can’t join in this chorus of jubilation. With all due respect for Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt – both of them are not world-class players for me,” the former Bayern chief shared.
Speaking on De Ligt he highlighted, “I’m even more skeptical about De Ligt. Sure, he’s only 22 years old. But the last three seasons at Juventus were lost time for him. He should have been able to develop further after his furious start to his career at Ajax. I think it is very daring to declare him Bayern’s chief of defence. You could have kept Niklas Süle.”
Rummenigge, contrary to public opinion, feels Noussair Mazraoui will be the star among the new players that have joined Bayern Munich this season. He points out similarities with former Dortmund fullback Achraf Hakimi who now plies his trade for PSG. He shares how defensively Mazraoui will be a beast for Bayern in the coming seasons.
Apart from these signings Bayern have also signed Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax and lastly they were joined by French wonderkid Mathys Tel from Stade Rennes. So it will be interesting to see how things work out for the new players in Bavaria.
