Sell sell sell.. and then comes Gustavo

Well the transfer period was incredibly hectic and many big players moved for huge prices during the month of January.  I'm not talking about Bayern of course, but the English Premier League certainly was the busiest of all the leagues.  Bayern on the other hand had a different plan, sell one fifth of their squad and get one player of quality.  Luiz Gustavo was the only player that Bayern Munich bought and he came for a whopping 15m euros.  While many other left, including captain (at the time) Mark Van Bommel.

Gustavo has definitely been bought this season at least as a left-back.  Contento completely failed to live to expectations, Pranjic was seen at best as a back-up option and Braafheid was never seriously considered for the role.  So far he looks ok, a bit clumsy and solid defending.  He hasn't been stellar but after only 4 games, it is simply a tad hard to judge him by.. however I am expecting him to perform to a higher level once he starts gelling with his team mates and has a better understanding of the system Bayern plays.  Anyways his signing is something that can only be judged the longer he plays, we might have a better idea of how successful the signing is sometime during next season.

Bayern wondering why they bought you in the first place as well..

Now onto the players we have sold.  It started from Van Bommel, ex-captain and the first ever non-German captain to many others.  A free transfer to Milan..  Haas, a youth player and simply a squad number unless a defensive catastrophe happens has moved to the Premier League.  Braafheid to Hoffenheim on a free to sweeten the deal for Gustavo; Alaba on loan to Hoffenheim; Demichellis to Malaga in Spain for 3m euros, & Knasmuller to Inter Milan for 300,000 euros.  Most of these players are either old like Van Bommel and Demichellis or simply not good enough like Haas, Braafheid and Knasmuller (at least for the time).  Alaba is rated highly but needed game time which is why he left.  The problem now is Bayern has sold too many players, with no actual replacements.  Quite a few signings will likely come during the summer but a couple of injuries here and there and it's doubtful that they can cope.  Not to mention players like Klose, Kraft, Altintop & Ottl being free agents during the summer.  However Bayern had the worst injury crisis in 30 years according to our medial team the first half of the season, perhaps we will be more lucky the 2nd half?  Bayern Dusel might be the last hope, though I remain optimistic about the rest of the season..

Van Bommel out.. who will step in his shoes?

Van Bommel, the first non-German captain officially left Bayern Munich in the winter transfer period, to AC Milan.  A bit weird that he left, 33 years old with rumors of not getting an extension & to a club where he can't play Champions League for this season on only a half a season contract.  There have been rumors that he got in a disagreement with Van Gaal, supposedly due to him loosing his starting place to Toni Kroos whose currently injured until mid-February and potentially the armband soon after.  Whether these rumors by Germany's most famous newspaper is true, I don't know but it does seem interesting.  Either way, we can thank Van Bommel for his years here but the question is who will take over his place?

Goodbye Van Bommel..

Toni Kroos is the obvious and most likely choice.  Could be the reason Van Bommel left, and I agree with Van Gaal if he sees it this way.  He can pass very very well, is excellent in the possession style of football Bayern have.  The Iniesta-Xavi combination could be the way that Schweini-Kroos may work, even though there are slight differences in positions and styles they play.. my comparison is in the way they keep possession and spray the ball around the field.  He has a good long range shot and adds something in free kicks and set pieces.  Positionally he is already great as well.  His biggest and perhaps only worry is his defensive game.  He needs to run at players more, be more aggressive and generally improve his defensive game.  He has shown glimpses of improvements but it is not at the level needed.  With Schweini by his side and Van Gaal's system however, it will be easier for him to develop.

Kroos.. working on his defensive game

There is always the option of Tymoschuk, after all Klinsmann bought him for that very reason.  He has been turned into a center back of late however, but he is always an option.  His weaknesses is that he is more of an old DM, a pure destroyer rather than the more recent players who can pass and initiate attacks much better.  However with him on the field in midfield, others like Schweinsteiger can have more freedom to attack.  Ribery and Robben wouldn't have to work as much defensively as well, but his attacking game suffers and he is not the type of player that Van Gaal prefers in that position.

 Tymoschuk or Pranjic.. could either of the two partner Schweini next?

The other choice is Luiz Gustavo, the Brazilian that came from Hoffenheim for 15m euros.  Now for this season at least, he will likely play left-back.  However after this season if Bayern sign a left-back, he could Schweini's partner.  He is a player that fits Van Gaal's system more than Tymoschuk for example, he has speed and good passing ability.  One of the best midfielders in Germany.  Another choice is Pranjic, who played very well vs United in Champions League.  Now I am a fan of Pranjic, he might even be one of my favorite players in the team.  He's not the most talented, but his devotion is praise worthy.  We bought him for 7.7m euros as a depth player, management only paid 7 million euros and Pranjic took 700,000 thousand euros from his own pocket to make sure the deal would happen.  He never complains when he is on the bench, he always gives 100% when on the field and runs all game long.  Good passer with good crossing and energetic, but I don't think he will be a starter..  he is not dominating enough in the middle of the pitch and can get muscled off the ball.  Last player left is Ottl... well he really isn't even a choice at this point.  The player could also be a new signing in the summer, who really knows what Van Gaal is thinking?

Who should Bayern buy in the winter or should they even bother?

Well it is officially New Years and I wish everyone a happy New Year!  Hope this year will be better than your last, for all of you.  Now that we've got that out of the way, lets talk about Bayern.  If you would have asked me two days on whether Bayern would sign anyone, I might have even said no at least not during this transfer period.  Yet Bayern have been very busy, it's already the first day of the transfer season and Bayern have sold Demichellis for 3m euros, loaned Alaba to Hoffenheim & bought Gustavo for 15 million euros.

Demichellis was always going to leave, however I'm very dissapointed we only got such a small sum of money from him.  Malaga are lucky to have gotten him so cheap.  He was always going to leave, he wanted to start and Van Gaal & he always had problems.  However it's a step in the right direction as it shows Bayern weeding out the weak links, especially ones that earn 5 to 5.5 million euros per year.  Alaba being loaned out is an outstanding move in my opinion, especially as it goes to Hoffenheim.  They just sold one of their best players that plays in Alaba's position, which gives him room to play.  Also they are a club known to play youth players which gives Alaba another advantage.  Just a fantastic move.  Gustavo on the other hand I wasn't all for this move, but nonetheless he can be a great signing.  The great thing about him is that he can play left-back, center-back and his original position in central midfield.  We already have plenty of players who can play in midfield, but him being able to play CB & LB is helpful since our left-backs are Contento whose simply put not good enough to start & Pranjic who at best is a good depth player there (good in attack, average defender).  At the heart of the defense, we have Badstuber, Breno, Tymoschuk & Van Buyten.  Van Buyten was supposed to join Hamburg but they didn't want to pay his high wage demands, I'm assuming Bayern wants to get rid of him as soon as possible.  So assuming he leaves in January, that would have left Bayern with 3 defenders which is simply put unacceptable for a team that fights for more than one trophy.  Gustavo being able to play there is a huge plus for depth purposes.

 Goodbye and good luck Demichellis

One position rather than player I would have wanted Bayern to go after this winter transfer period is something that I unfortunately hear nothing about.. the right back position to get someone as a back-up for Lahm.  He has played over 70 games in a row for Bayern being substituted only once during 70th minute in a Cup match.  Simply put, this is disappointing and something Bayern has to fix.  Even if it is a player like Gustavo or Pranjic, find someone who can play more than 1 position but make sure he can play right-back.  It could be a cheap option, but I have seen Lahm playing this season and he's been very disappointing.  He looks like he has ran out of gas and needs more breaks otherwise he would unfortunately crack and break down entirely.  The only other position Bayern even needs to address during this time is the wings, to have someone who can play either side if Ribery or Robben get injured..  Kakuta and Shaqiri have been linked here and there, I think Shaqiri in particular can't be any worse than Altintop.  Otherwise for this transfer period, I just don't see Bayern in need of signing any other type of player.  I can see in the summer a goalkeeper or better said Neuer being in need, a left-back and depending how Breno does for the 2nd half of the season, a defender.  Otherwise Bayern is already set in every position.

 Our first winter signing, Luiz Gustavo

Now that Alaba & Demichellis have left, the only players I imagine could leave Bayern during this time is Klose, Altintop, Van Buyten (all 3 due to playing time) & potentially even Van Bommel.  Klose shouldn't leave until the summer since Olic is injured and our depth will weaken there.  We also have no winger other than a converted Muller or Pranjic even though he can only play on the left, so we should keep Altintop until the summer.  Then both can leave and we can find better replacements, unless Shaqiri or a player of his type is found to replace Altintop now.. however the problem would lie that they can play in Champions League.  Buyten just isn't needed at all anymore, his wages are pretty big and Gustavo has already been brought as back-up there in case of injury emergency.  Van Bommel should leave as I doubt he's needed at Bayern anymore, however the only reason I can see this move not happening until the summer could be due to him not wanting to move.  Whatever club he will move to, I doubt they will have a bigger chance of winning trophies than Bayern and he's the captain here.  However he's been absolutely awful all season and should leave.  Bayern has Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Tymoschuk, Gustavo, Pranjic & even Ottl all who can play in central midfield in two positions, simply put there are too many players that can play there and there needs to be room for everyone to play.   So in general, I would hope for Braafheid, Van Buyten & Van Bommel to both leave and hopefully we can scrap some money of their transfers while using it to get a cheap back-up for Lahm.  It will be interesting (lets hope) what direction Bayern will be going this winter transfer period...

Once again, Happy New Years everyone!