Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has confirmed that the Bundesliga club are willing to meet the release clause of Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez.
The Bavarians have made no secret of their desire to bolster their armoury this summer and Hernandez is rumoured to be top of the club’s wishlist.
Could Bayern sign Hernandez? Five key things to know…
- Since lifting the World Cup with France in the summer, Hernandez has been linked with Bayern Munich.
- In December, Spanish publication Marca reported that the German giants were willing to pay Hernandez’s €80m (£72m) release clause.
- However, Atleti quickly refuted those claims and released a statement denying the rumours.
- Bayern have now gone on record and made their intent to sign Hernandez public knowledge.
- Hoeness wants to bolster Bayern’s defensive options after a tentative start under Niko Kovac.
Atletico Madrid were able to stand firm and retain the services of the 23-year-old during the winter transfer window, but it appears Bayern are intent on prising the Frenchman away from the Spanish capital.
If the five-time European champions did indeed meet Hernandez’s €80m (£72m) buyout clause, it would fall just short of the record fee paid for a defender: Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool for £75m last year.
However, the excessive fee has not deterred the Bayern president, who has reignited the club’s interest.
“We definitely have to do something at centre-back,” Hoeness told reporters. “I imagine if given the chance, we’d pay the release clause.
“We’ve saved up; we’re well prepared for the summer. Our sporting director has everything under control.”
Should Kovac swoop for Hernandez then he will be getting a very versatile defender who is capable of operating at left-back and centre-back, adding significant depth to the Bayern squad.
The Marseille-born defender is the archetypal modern full-back, skilled with the ball at his feet, but also strong in the tackle and proficient with deliveries from wide areas.
That said, fortune has not particularly favoured Hernandez in terms of his injury record, with the defender sustaining three separate injuries this campaign alone, but Bayern need defenders, and the Atleti man seems to be firmly in Kovac’s crosshairs.
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James Rodriguez future in Kovac’s hands
Much has been made about the future of Real Madrid loanee James Rodriguez, who has failed to replicate the form he demonstrated during his maiden season in Bavaria.
Part of a two-year loan with the option to buy, Rodriguez has featured sporadically this season and was linked with a switch to the Premier League last month, but he has started the previous six matches and his future is in the hands of Kovac, according to Hoeness.
He told Sport1: “It depends very much on whether Niko Kovac says: ‘I want to keep him’. If he says, ‘he’s a great player but won’t play regularly under me’, then we can’t pay the transfer fee.
“It all depends on what we want. We have an option that we can choose to take up or not. If we choose to do so, he’ll stay.”
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