With a win at RB Leipzig on Saturday, FC Bayern will definitely be German champions. After that, the Club World Cup in the USA (June 14 to July 13) will gradually come to the fore. Concrete planning is now beginning at FCB.
It is not yet clear which squad FC Bayern will take to the US for the revamped 2025 Club World Cup, which will feature 32 teams.
But who will it be? Among other things, it should be noted that professionals such as Alphonso Davies and Hiroki Ito are definitely out with injuries and the professional squad currently consists of only 19 field players and four goalkeepers, assuming Jamal Musiala and Dayot Upamecano are fit and no one else gets injured.
The record champions have so far signed one new player for the coming season in Tom Bischof. The midfielder is set to move to Munich on June 1 and play in the Club World Cup, but a final agreement with Hoffenheim is still pending, as Bischof is under contract there until June 30.
It is clear that one or two loan players will return early and travel with the team. Adam Aznou (Real Valladolid) is a logical candidate because there is a need at left back. Paul Wanner and Frans Krätzig (both Heidenheim) also belong to this group, while Mathys Tel (Tottenham) and Bryan Zaragoza (CA Osasuna) are less likely to return because Bayern Munich no longer has plans for them.
“We will discuss with the coach over the next ten days which campus and loan players we will take with us, and one or two will definitely be included,” said sporting director Christoph Freund after Saturday’s 3-0 win against Mainz 05. It’s all a matter of weighing things up, also because of the international players who will be in action beforehand in the Nations League or World Cup qualifiers.
It is still unclear whether Jonas Urbig will travel or play in the U-21 European Championship. The latter is only likely if he has a realistic chance of playing in the tournament.
Kusi-Asare will definitely be there
Freund revealed one name: “Jonah Kusi-Asare will definitely be there.”
The 17-year-old striker from Sweden had previously made his Bundesliga debut for FC Bayern in the final minutes against Mainz. Other talents include Lennart Karl (17) and 16-year-old Wisdom Mike, who will get a taste of the World Cup atmosphere.
Incidentally, it is nothing new for FC Bayern to take talented players to a major tournament. At the 2020 Champions League final tournament, a certain Musiala was in Hansi Flick’s Bayern squad, having made his debut a few weeks earlier in the Bundesliga as a 17-year-old. Oliver Batista Meier (now SSV Ulm), goalkeeper Ron-Thorben Hoffmann (Braunschweig) and Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven) were also in the squad but did not play a single minute.
