After the Bundesliga season comes the Club World Cup. It is still unclear what the squad will look like for this new four-week tournament. Several young players are also being considered.
Thomas Müller’s contract has been extended until the end of July, and he will be going on a farewell tour in the US for this competition; Eric Dier, meanwhile, will be moving to AS Monaco before then. Otherwise, there are several question marks. For example, what will happen with Leroy Sané in general – whether he will still be part of the FCB squad.
With Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka, Min-Jae Kim, Raphael Guerreiro, Sacha Boey, and Bryan Zaragoza all potential candidates for departure, the departure of one of these professionals before the Club World Cup cannot be completely ruled out. This makes it all the more important for squad planners to have reliable young players at their disposal. This means that Adam Aznou, Gabriel Vidovic, and Jonah Kusi-Asare are options. Arijon Ibrahimovic, Lennart Karl, and Mathys Tel could be further additions.
Aznou, on loan to Real Valladolid, played a total of 874 minutes in the Spanish La Liga in the second half of the season, appearing in seven games for 90 minutes or more. Paul Wanner collected a total of 1,779 minutes for 1. FC Heidenheim, which now faces relegation, playing one full game. Mathys Tel, who has joined Tottenham Hotspur on a temporary basis, played 830 minutes in the Premier League, appearing in six games for the full 90 minutes.
Aznou in the plans – Tel and Ibrahimovic on the bubble
Left-back Aznou is definitely in the plans for the Club World Cup. There was also consideration given to Paul Wanner, although he is in the provisional DFB squad for the U-21 European Championship. “Paul has made it very clear to me that he wants to play in the U-21 European Championship. And the club has given the go-ahead,” explained U-21 national coach Antonio Di Salvo on Wednesday.
Tel, who has a buy-out clause of around €55 million, will certainly be renegotiated. If no agreement can be reached with Spurs and the player on a permanent transfer, Tel is also likely to be part of Bayern’s US squad. Ibrahimovic’s future has not yet been finalized (Lazio Rome has a buy-out clause), so his potential participation in the Club World Cup also depends on this.
Loan deals pay off
Basically, however, the youngsters have been given playing time at their respective clubs. More than they could have been guaranteed in Munich. This is because young players at FC Bayern such as Vidovic (after his loan to Mainz 05 was terminated in winter; 25 minutes including two appearances in extra time), Kusi-Asare (nine times in the squad, two minutes of playing time), who is also firmly planned for the Club World Cup, and Lennart Karl (three times in the squad, no minutes) played a total of 27 minutes in the second half of the season. If you include the appearances of Ibrahimovic (1) and Aznou (15) from the first half of the season, coach Vincent Kompany gave this quintet a total of 43 minutes over the entire season.
That’s not much – and it’s hard to imagine that the youngsters will now play a major role in the upcoming Club World Cup. Against opponents such as Auckland City or Boca Juniors in the group stage – with all due respect to them – at least part-time appearances should be possible to give the regulars a breather.
