Christian Falk: Premier League dealt transfer blow as three Bayern stars staying put

Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Ryan Gravenberch look set to remain at Bayern for the foreseeable future it seems following, Christian Falk’s latest update for CaughtOffside in his exclusive column.

The former Schalke man, admittedly, looks the most likely of the trio to depart in the summer, though he certainly appears to have no desire to.

“In the case of Joshua Kimmich – he is called to be the next captain of the team. He should be the future from the leaders,” the journalist wrote.

“I think, in this case, it’s to put pressure on him, as the last half-year wasn’t his best but Bayern are counting on him.

“It’s not the same situation for Leon Goretzka. At the moment it seems that Ryan Gravenberch has his nose ahead of his teammate and Bayern would be open to the prospect of talking about him with other clubs if there were any offers.

“There are rumours that Manchester United are interested in him. We heard it’s still the case that they’re searching for a striker first and foremost.

“Also, Goretzka doesn’t want to change clubs this summer, he wants to play for Bayern Munich. Nothing will happen with Kimmich because they don’t want to sell and probably nothing with Goretzka as he doesn’t want to leave.”

This spells potentially bad news for the likes of Liverpool who have enjoyed some links to the three Bavarian stars – the latter of the group in particular amid their search for midfield reinforcements.

The Merseysiders are forced to consider the need for experienced operators in the department in question ahead of the potentially imminent departures of Jordan Henderson (33) and Fabinho (29).

There were serious links to Southampton’s £50m-valued Romeo Lavia (19), though it’s difficult to imagine such a young prodigy being favoured in the current climate without a further serious cash boost.

A combined fee of £52m from sales for the aforementioned stalwarts will be a welcome slice of income, though Liverpool have more than just the midfield conundrum to juggle whilst questions persist over the future of the backline.

A lot to do for Jorg Schmadtke in his first season as the Reds’ sporting director and it’s far from clear whether the club will be able to tick all the boxes they’d like to in the summer.