The German champions have been strangely quiet in the summer window, which could greatly hamper their chances of European progress
Bayern Munich are back in the trophy-winning habit. After wrestling the Bundesliga title back from Bayer Leverkusen in comfortable fashion last season, Vincent Kompany opened their new campaign with a 2-1 German Super Cup victory over Stuttgart, as goals from Harry Kane and new addition Luis Diaz saw off the DFB-Pokal winners.
It was by no means a vintage performance, but that was understandable given Bayern only had a short pre-season due to their appearance at the expanded Club World Cup, and Kane was right in the thick of the celebrations after the final whistle. “Here we are, first one of the season,” the England captain wrote on social media. “Oh, it feels good.”
However, once the euphoria of clinching his second career trophy in the space of four months passed, Kane voiced his concerns about the lack of depth in Bayern’s ranks, and put some pressure on the board to make more signings. “It’s probably one of the smallest squads I’ve ever played in. There’s still time until the transfer window closes and decisions could be made by Max Eberl, Christoph [Freund], and the coach,” he told reporters. “We have some young players who have done very well in pre-season. We’re a bit thin, but that’s not in the players’ control.”
That last part was an understatement. Kompany has just 22 fit senior players to choose from at the moment, and Bayern only have two weeks left to bring in extra reinforcements, with the summer window due to swing shut on September 1. Should they neglect to do so, the ultimate goal of Champions League glory will be beyond the German champions in 2025-26, regardless of whether Kane continues to deliver the goods in the final third…