If Bayern want to catch Leverkusen, they need to fix their broken defence

The Munich giants still have glaring holes in defence which have been largely ignored over the course of the summer transfer window.

The transfer window is unquestionably a cruel temptress for most football clubs with a bit of money in their back pocket. For a team like Bayern Munich, each off-season offers an opportunity to garner some quick goodwill from fans. No savvy PR firm could ever work as well and as fast as signing a shiny new winger or a striker that scored an unholy amount of goals last season. Spend enough time watching the reactions of football fans and one comes to realise that mankind hasn’t evolved all that much from its pagan past: we still demand new gods each and every year and cast the old ones aside as suitable blood sacrifices. 

A well-run football club need not concern itself with these primitive demands. Silverware lasts long in the memory and a championship-winning team can often make its way through the summer months without needing a huge amount of upkeep. But one that’s lost its way often reverts back to a state of panic and typically grasps at quick fixes to try and get back to the glory of yesteryear. It’s why Chelsea have spent over €1 billion on new players in the last two years and why Manchester United are often found spending incredible sums on players that have past their peak. Whether Bayern are also stuck in this rut remains to be seen, but there’s little doubt that they too are desperately trying to perform an eloquent 180 to get out of last season’s mess. 

Indeed, having spent over €140m so far this summer, the Bavarian giants have on paper covered most bases; Michael Olise arrives with some much-needed firepower to replace the ageing influence of Serge Gnabry and Kinsgley Coman, while João Palhinha makes the move to Munich as perhaps the first purpose-built defensive midfielder in a Bayern Munich top since Javi Martinez first donned the club’s famous colours in 2012. Alongside central defenders Hiroki Ito and Jonathan Tah (yes, I still think he’ll end up leaving Bayer Leverkusen), there’s little for Vincent Kompany to complain about. Right? Well, let’s take a look.