Julian Nagelsmann and FC Bayern start again. 51 days after the last competitive game in Munich, the series champion starts the preparation. Most of the stars are still missing. But there is already a newcomer on Säbener Straße.
Munich (dpa / lby) - Stars like Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mané or Manuel Neuer were able to enjoy the summer holidays when the first Bayern professionals around new signing Ryan Gravenberch started preparing. In addition to the 20-year-old midfielder signed by Ajax Amsterdam, central defender Dayot Upamaceno (23) and substitute goalkeeper Sven Ulreich (33) were the most prominent players welcomed by coach Julian Nagelsmann in Munich on Monday.
"The vacation was longer than usual, so we're all happy to be back on the pitch," said Nagelsmann, who scheduled nine sessions in the first week of training.
For the first time in a long time, Joshua Zirkzee, who was last loaned out to RSC Anderlecht and before that to Parma Calcio, jogged across the training pitch on Säbener Straße. The unit, which lasted more than 100 minutes, was not open to the public due to construction work on the club premises.
After the warm-up program, Gravenberch continued to train individually. According to Ajax, Munich paid a fixed transfer fee of 18.5 million euros for the Dutchman, which can be increased by up to 5.5 million euros through bonus payments. In Munich, the midfielder has signed a five-year contract until 2027.
Gravenberch, who injured his ankle at the end of last season, is expected to be in team training soon. "It's nice to be here and it was good training," said the 20-year-old.
Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic looked out the window at times as more than a dozen professionals and amateur players completed their exercises. Salihamidzic continues to work behind the scenes on the team that is expected to win their eleventh championship title in a row next season and do better than this year in the Champions League and DFB Cup.
The clarification of the controversial personnel Lewandowski remains particularly exciting. The Pole wants to switch to FC Barcelona. The Catalans' pain threshold for the fee is said to be 40 million euros. That would probably not be enough for the people of Munich.
The future of Serge Gnabry, whose contract, like that of Lewandowski, expires next summer, is also in question. The international is said to have attracted interest from Real Madrid and Premier League clubs. According to reports, the Munich team is also focusing on the accession of Konrad Laimer from RB Leipzig.
Nagelsmann's squad will fill up more and more in the coming days, and from July 12th he should have the entire ensemble at his disposal. At the start, the 34-year-old was able to get an impression of the youngsters. The last stars to get into the preparations next week are national players like Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller or Lewandowski who are under a lot of strain.
The entire Munich team around star signing Mané, who was signed by Liverpool FC for more than 30 million euros, is to present itself to the fans on July 16 in the Allianz Arena. Two days later, the plane to the USA takes off. The Bayern stars stay there for almost a week, complete two friendlies in Washington against D.C. United and in Green Bay against Manchester City. The first competitive game will take place on July 30: In Leipzig, Bayern will meet DFB Cup winners RB Leipzig in the DFL Supercup.
