Please trust an old fellow: Signing the best players of previous European Cup opponents was standard procedure back in the day. It was the stupid transfer companion of getting a player after three good games at a World Cup or continental tournament, which is still common.Well, damn, left the house with DM's report of a Bayern interest in Sandro Wagner, got back finding out about done deals for Hummels and Renato Sanches, the latter out of absolutely nowhere. Not too shabby. Don't know much about Renato Sanches, though, other than him being highly touted.
Yeah, I initially thought they'd have to mean bonuses to put it towards €45M total, but it seems it's really up to €45M in bonuses. That's pretty crazy - that's more bonuses than our transfer record fee thus far. I have to assume that's like €5M per CL win (over five years = €25M max) and another €5M for each year he finishes top-5 in Ballon d'Or voting or something insane like that.
That's not to say Sanches was such a stupid transfer. The full bonus payments are said to depend on some lofty expectations, but a fee of approximately € 60m does not seem outlandish for such a young and good player for one of the most important positions today. If Thiago prefers to follow his mentor Guardiola once again, Munich will recoup a part of that investment ths summer.
On the other hand, signing Hummels for € 35m, who could have moved for free next year, seems less prudent. In general, he is an upgrade over Martinez as CB and might be the last piece for Munich. However, I am still rather wary about players who are set to play a bulk of matches in a summer tournament (like Hummels in France), since it often takes a toll of them with regard to the forthcoming season. Of course I acknowlegde that this transfer between Munich and their seemingly rejuvenated rival Dortmund is not solely about economic questions. But may I ask for how much Benatia will return to Rome? I'd guess for less than half the fee Munich paid.
Picking up Wagner might be clever. While he is a very limited player, Wagner will accept his role as sole backup and should get quite a lot scoring chances when he plays. I consider it necessary to reduce Lewandowski's workload in oder to keep him fresh, but if I were to decide for Munich, I'd choose a better player who would be more helpful in case of an injury. It's shame Dzeko has completely fallen of a cliff, he would have been ideal.
Gruß,
BSHH