Bayern And Barcelona In Race For Jonathan Tah: Bayern Leverkusen and FC Barcelona are both in talks with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah, as the German defender can be in for a late move to a massive club.
Bayern And Barcelona in Race For Jonathan Tah
Barca finished second in La Liga last season behind rivals Real Madrid. Having failed to win any major trophy, the team ousted club legend and manager Xavbi and brought in former Munich and Germany manager Hansi Flick. Barca has been facing some financial trouble this transfer window as they had issues with the league’s salary cap.
Because of the salary cap, the Catalan club had to offload arguably their best player of the last season, Ilkay Gundogan, back to Manchester City for free. So far, they have signed two strikers in this transfer window: youngster Pau Victor from Girona and Euros 2024 star Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig.
Barca desperately needs to sign a defender after sending Julian Araujo to Bournemouth and Mikhayil Faye to Stade Rennais. There are also reports about Andreas Christensen being injured and possibly out of the team.
On the other hand, Bayern sold centre-back Matthijs de Ligt and right-back Noussair Mazraoui to Manchester United and need to replenish their defensive coffers. They finished second in the Bundesliga last season behind Bayern Leverkusen.
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While manager Vincent Kompany has brought in defender Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart and defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha from Fulham, they need a strong presence at the back of the field to replace de Ligt.
Tah, whose contract with Die Werkself ends in 2025, had a fantastic season with his current club last time around as Leverkusen won the Bundesliga for the first time in their history. The 28-year-old’s performance throughout the season resulted in his being picked for Germany’s squad for the 2024 UEFA Euro at home, in which he played four matches.
Reports have emerged that Jonathan Tah has told Levekusen that he will not extend his contract that is set to end next year. This has all but forced the club to sell him in this summer transfer window if they are not to lose him for free in 2025. However, club director Simon Rolfes has denied the possibility of a transfer this summer, saying,
“We are calm. Tah is a mature player and is totally focused. We are not contemplating any moves.”
With less than two days remaining in the transfer window, Barcelona and Bayern Munich need to hurry if they are to secure the services for Tah, whose transfer fee is set to be in the 20 million euros range.
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