#Bayern Munich

#Bayern Munich

In my career, I've rarely seen a player as physically strong as Leroy. He can run and sprint a lot and can do it every three days. When he's mentally ready, we've seen what he can do. He had an impressive performance [against Slovakia], he rewarded himself with two goals but also worked hard and was diligent in the counter pressing. When he does that, when Flo Wirtz does that, when our attacking players press and defend, then the entire team pulls together and we can be successful,

"I'm going to be completely honest. It really shook me up. We're talking about a global giant, Bayern Munich, where a coach with that kind of history, Kompany, calls me. And we had a conversation there. He was super polite to me, said he always really liked my football, and this was at 11pm, a little after 11. Whether I wanted to or not, it really affected me."

I had a close exchange with Toni Di Salvo [U21 coach]. He's always happy when his players make it to the senior national team, but for his mission, it's not optimal when his players are away. So we have to find a healthy compromise. Said did well, it was his first time with us. He didn't have many training sessions, but he made a good impression. I spoke to him at the beginning of the week and we decided he would join the U21s as they have an important game in Georgia.

Bayern are unlikely to do business in the winter transfer window, but they could make a serious attempt for Read next summer. Givairo Read - transfer latest Feyenoord signed Read for their academy in 2023 before promoting him to the senior squad. Last season, he made 33 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals. In the 2025-26 campaign, he has already made 14 appearances in all competitions, which demonstrates the high regard in which the Rotterdam club hold him.

The French defender joined Liverpool in the summer of 2021 from RB Leipzig, and gradually established himself as a key player for the club. Konate played a significant role last season and contributed to the Reds winning the Premier League for the 20th time in their history. However, his contract situation remains a worry. Liverpool do not want to lose a player of his calibre for free, and several talks have taken place already, with no result.

There was constant back and forth between the two clubs in the negotiations and it became increasingly difficult to make any sort of progression as Stuttgart were not exactly fond of the idea of offloading their key striker to a Bundesliga rival. They had already lost Serhou Guirassy to Borussia Dortmund and didn't want to have the same thing happening again, even though Woltemade had made it clear he was heavily interested in making the step up to Bayern.

'It's the same with (Erling) Haaland or any player. You have to be winning those major trophies. With the way the season is going with Bayern Munich, it looks like we're in great shape. It looks like we're one of the favourites for the Champions League. It's the same with England. I think we're going to go into the tournament as one of the favourites.'

Wolfsburg are interested in Christoph Freund for their vacant sporting director role, but the Austrian has no intention of leaving Bayern. Freund would certainly have a larger role with Wolfsburg and far more power than he does in Bavaria, but it would be a steep drop in prestige and capability. Freund has built a reputation as an executive who can help drive improvement and excellence in a club's youth development system.

"He suggested, 'can you not ask [Danish coach Sepp] Piontek to play for 45 minutes or maybe less? Then I'll pick you up and we come with a private jet and you can play in the evening in Bochum'. "I was not thinking it was too crazy because I was in the best shape of my life."