He's still around at Schalke coming off a decent (to my recollection) loan spell in Austria. He could still come good.
Avdijaj hasn't flushed anything, he just came back from a very successful loan spell only to get injured. I think he'll move on from S04 next summer, but depending on where he lands I still expect him to become a star.
Maybe he didn't flush down his entire career, but he certainly severely damaged it. He wouldn't be the first one who didn't recover from such a series of severe setbacks.
I would say "very" successful is a little bit of an over exaggeration. Of his 7 goals in Austria, 3 of them came against teams from the Austrian 3.Liga during the OFB Cup. After a mid season injury he was unable to solidify a starting XI position for the final 13 matches, only starting half and coming off the bench for half. I'd say he had a learning experience in Austria.
I caught a handful of his matches and he was clearly the lynchpin to that side, injuries have been a problem for him, but on the pitch he has certainly grown. This isn't a Sinan Kurt or Samed Yesil who just couldn't be bothered to give a s***.
Bremen board member Lemke said in TV today that Bayern is involved in the Gnabry deal. How he did not tell. Sport director Baumann later than denied it again saying "there is no agreement with Bayern". Problem is when there is smoke there is fire and Bayern somehow has their hands in this deal. Though it remains unsure how exactly
I might even bet on "such deals" where Bayern is somehow involved in facilitating a transfer to a smaller club will be more numerous in the future with the heating up on the transfer market and the necessity to strike deals earlier than before if you don't want to overpay and let the player grow at a smaller club. Simply because if Bayern signs and than loans it typically already costs more than small club signs (insert Bremen) with Bayern bankrolling the transfer fee. For me this smells after Reschke and maybe this Gnabry deal is not even the first one
So Rummenigge told Sport Bild about Brandt visiting Bayern München with his father when he was listening to offers where to go to after his time in Wolfsburg. He also says we will 'respect' his contract with Leverkusen which by now is just a meaningless phrase. I think we can expect a Brandt offer next summer assuming his development continues this season. #Rummenigge über #Brandt [Sportbild via TM] #B04 #FCB pic.twitter.com/cXBpvHxiZT— 90PLUS (@neunzig_plus) September 14, 2016
You underestimate the level a winger needs to excel at Bayern. None of RB's wingers is even on the same level that Douglas Costa or Kinglsey Coman showed last season. Cazorla will be 32 years old in December and has been a central midfielder for Arsenal in recent years because of his declining athleticism. He doesn't improve us one bit. Ricardo Rodriguez is technically not on our level, his passing is sloppy and his positional awareness questionable. His overall performance level has also dropped significantly since his best period between 2013 and 2015. Only Julian Draxler could be an option, but not for the price PSG has been offering Wolfsburg (€ 75 million). We have to trust in Michael Reschke's ability to find the best possible solution on the transfer market. In general we could really use more players who can score from around the edge of the penalty box. When Robben is not on the pitch we don't have enough threats in that area and very good opponents like Atletico can always rely on our preference to rather pass in search of a better angle to finish within the penalty box.
I agree when I was talking about RB wingers I wanted someone for the Goetze position as an extra person, speedy technical not a Robbery replacement. Age is an issue with Cazorla but it was not declining athleticism but the need to fit both Ozil & Cazorla. Cazorla played at CAM & was fantastic there too, he even played LW in a few games, but obviously he was adding a lot at CM over Ramsey n Wilshere. Anyways I think Ricardo is falling because of stagnation - staying at the same club for far too long. He needs to go to an elite club, play CHL every week n train with top quality players, face competition n play under a good coach. I don't think he is a bad passer, obviously he doesn't have the passing range or 1st touch n technical ability of Alaba. He is defensively better IMO, physically decent, good in setpieces & he has that something spark, X factor, he is a big game guy! The reason I am saying this is I feel we need a fast pacy attacker upfront who could be a handful. I look at Dembele at Dortmund & he is amazing & came at 15M. Ralph Guerroro the LB playing at CM is also ffantastic n came at 12M something odd. I am not sure how much Bayern will spend - I think we have to look beyond a 35 year old Alonso. I don't see very realistic targets who are available for 30-40M odd, the kind of transfers we do! Draxler would be great but yea probably too expensive.
well maybe this summer bayern will finally offer 60+ mil for a player. Like someone mentioned if Chelsea doesnt make it to the CL maybe we can go for Hazard for 60-80 mil. We are finding good players but Real and Barcelona are spending big money when needed for Bale,Suarez,Neymar and has paid very well. Too bad Dembele choose Dortmund. Three positions look like a must this summer. First it will be Lahm last season next year and Rafinha is old and average so we must find a RB who will take over Lahm and rotate with him in his last season, Bellerin is a dream but dont think arsenal will sell, even if they decide to sell you have Barca,City and co going after him. Second Alonso is old and slow as fack, if CA wants to continue with this DLP then we should buy another midfielder next summer or maybe go with the double pivot when we already have Boateng,Hummels and Martinez with amazing playmaking skills. Weigl looks good but it will be impossible and too early , Veratti maybe as a cm. Third winger/attacking midfielder - Robben is playing like 30% of the games both he and Ribery were missing in the crucial stages of the CL in the last two years. So maybe we can offer them some 50% wage cut deals if they accept. Lets face it 6 mil a year for Ribery(12 mil now) and 4 mil a year for Robben(8 mil now) for players injured half of the season they wont find better deals unless they go to CHina or similar. With this it will open up 10 mil a year just from Rib and Rob salaries for another winger /attacking midfielder. we were making some smart signings in this past two seasons but still we are too dependable on our oldies. Dortmund had a very good summer with Guereriro,Dembele,Mor plus they have some great young guys like Pulisic and Paslack
They don't get paid fully if they don't play but Robben is the most economical player IMo, when you need him he comes n makes a difference in the big matches. Muller N Lewa has to be the costliest, they play every game but 15M n they don't jack in the big matches. I mean you have guys like Ibra for 20-22M, Messi 40M, Ronaldo 35M, Rooney 20M n so on & 15-20M is the minimum price of elite players - Robben is more important to Bayern that what Messi is to Barca or Ronaldo to Real. Ashley Young gets 7M for MU & rarely plays, Depay gets around 5-6M from MU - Every promising youngster who goes to a decent club gets 4-5M at the very least, those are the minimum wages. Robben had great offers from Juventus, City etc but didn't leave - I mean 4M is the price of garbage players who never play much even as sub - Shaqiri at Stoke gets 5M!
Anyways when it comes to future targets I would say keep a close look on Geis n Goretzka - 2 of the biggest talents IMO. Geis is tremendous at the Single holding midfielder, DLP, DM kind of position. Goretzka is good for the CM, could be an alternative to Thiago. Since Schalke to Dortmund transfers are unlikely, I think these are realistic targets!
It makes little sense to go after Goretzka as one of Kimmich or Sanches will occupy that role already.
Agreed. Sanches, Kimmich, Thiago, Vidal plus the prospects of Dorsch and Benko and the versatility of Martínez make me very relaxed about the future of the midfield. I think the focus of future transfers should be at RB, winger, and a backup CB. For RB in the Bundesliga there are a few options to watch how they develop by 2018 when Lahm retires: Henrichs, Toljan, and Klostermann. The good news is they're all talented and have this season and next to show they could fill the RB spot at CL level. Outside the Bundesliga there are options like Elseid Hysaj and Djibril Sidibe. At winger Brandt and Draxler would really need to become more consistent. But, a young creative player whose game is based on technical ability would be good. €75 million for Draxler is far too much though. For backup CB, it doesn't need to be a glamorous signing, just someone capable of 1.BL level CB play in case of injury. Mergim Mavraj is at the heart of Köln's solid defense this season, and his contract is over this summer. Would be available on a free. In the future, I wouldn't mind something like one of these options: 3-4-3 Coman/Costa-Lewandowski-Brandt Alaba--Vidal---Kimmich/Sanches--NewRB -----Hummels--Martínez--Boateng --------------------Neuer 4-2-3-1 ---------------Lewandowski Coman/Costa----Müller----Brandt ----Vidal/Martínez--Kimmich/Sanches/Thiago Alaba----Hummels----Boateng----NewRB --------------------Neuer
Again I ask... are there no Bayern youth prospects who are anywhere near promising for any potential roles right now? I mean seriously.
Ever since we were relegated to the 4th BL, getting or keeping talents has been very difficult. Dorsch and Benko are probably the talents with the biggest prospects.