Bryan Zaragoza underlines the Red Bullification of Bayern Munich under Christoph Freund

Earlier this week, Bayern Munich signed Bryan Zaragoza out of nowhere. The speed and the manner of the deal clearly underlines a changing transfer strategy under sporting director Christoph Freund.

It was a deal almost out of nowhere. Earlier this week, Bayern Munich announced that they had signed Granada star Bryan Zaragoza ahead of the 2024/25 season. The 22-year-old winger has signed a contract that will kick in next summer and then keep him in the Bavarian capital until 2029.  

"Bryan Zaragoza is a very fast and extremely agile winger who can play on both wings,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said in a club statement. “He is unpredictable, a goal threat, and very good in one-v-one situations. He has already made his debut for the Spanish national team this year and has a lot of potential. Bryan is one of the hotshots in Spain and has been on our radar for a long time. He will expand our attacking options."

Although Freund admitted that Zaragoza has been on Bayern’s radar for some time, rumors of the transfer happening weren’t leaked until 12 hours before the deal was done. Indeed, the speed at which Bayern identified and then concluded the deal is remarkable.