Man Utd door open for third Bayern Munich raid with 57-cap star ‘upset’ by Kompany treatment

Manchester United have what is described as an open door at signing Leon Goretzka in 2025, with the player frustrated at his treatment by Vincent Kompany and why a transfer from Bayern Munich could go through coming to light.

The Red Devils invested some £180m in five new players over the summer transfer window, with two of those, Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, arriving from Bayern Munich for fees that will reach £42.9m (€50m, $56.7m) and £17.2m (€20.4m, $22.7m) respectively.

And while both have become fixtures of the Manchester United side this season, it is evident Erik ten Hag’s side are still a work in progress and still bound by the inconsistencies that blighted their campaign last time around.

One area that was targeted for improvement was in central midfield, with United also shelling out a fee that will ultimately top £50.7m (€60m, $67m) for Manuel Ugarte.

However, with debate still lingering over the longevity of Casemiro at the very top level, it comes as no surprise to see the Red Devils being linked with several possible replacements.

To that end, Fichajes claimed last week that United were weighing up future moves for Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton and Hayden Hackney of Middlesbrough.

Now The Sun claims they are also on high alert over a possible move to sign Goretzka, who has been left ‘upset’ by his lack of minutes under Vincent Kompany this season.

They claim that both United and West Ham are weighing up moves for the 57-times capped Germany international – and with two years left on his contract, an opportunity may well present itself to snare the experienced 29-year-old star.

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Man Utd could seize opportunity to sign Bayern star

Goretzka has been a regular feature in the Bayern side since a July 2018 move to the Allianz Arena, racking up 222 appearances for the Bundesliga giants in that time.

However, the summer signing of Joao Palhinha, coupled with the rise through the academy ranks of Aleksandar Pavlovic, has seen Goretzka’s influence wane and he was left out of their matchday squad for Saturday’s thumping 6-1 away win at Holstein Kiel.

Responding to that failure to make their bench for the Bundesliga match, sporting director Max Eberl told Sky Germany that Goretzka has been made aware of the competition for places in their midfield.

“We communicated very clearly from the start,” Eberl stated. “Leon knew that we were relying on Pavlo [Pavlovic], and that we would bring in with Palhinha and that Joshua [Kimmich] would play more in the centre again.

“We’ve also said that when Leon is there and ready to face the situation, he’ll be treated completely normally. Leon’s a great guy. I like him a lot, even though he’s obviously upset at the moment. I understand that too. But that’s part of life in football.”

While United’s minority shareholders, INEOS, are more keen on signing younger talent and those with plenty left in the tank, TEAMtalk understands they are opportunistic and would explore a deal if the price were right.

We have also been told he is raging at his lack of minutes and subsequent axing from the matchday squad leaving the door open for a potential move.

However, the midfielder’s current package would be an issue and he would likely need to take a considerable drop on the current £273,000 a week package he earns in Bavaria for a move to come off.

Man Utd to hand Amad new deal as Martial finally finds new club

Elsewhere at United, the Red Devils are ready to hand the ever-improving Amad Diallo a new deal at Old Trafford after the young winger’s fine start to the new season.

The former Sunderland and Rangers loanee has had to wait patiently for his opportunity to shine at United but has now taken that opportunity with both hands, having become a regular in the starting line up this season.

Amad’s existing deal expires at the end of the 2024/25 season, though Man Utd do hold a club option for an extra year.

However, TEAMtalk can confirm the player remains happy at Old Trafford and is very much open to extending his existing arrangement, and with talks slotted to commence in the coming months.

Also on Tuesday, it has emerged that former United forward Anthony Martial is closing in on his next club, with a surprise move across Europe closing in and in a deal that will make him his new side’s highest-paid player of all time.

How Goretzka has fallen out of favour at Bayern

Goretzka arrived at Bayern in the summer of 2018 and immediately established himself as one of the first names on Niko Kovac’s team sheet.

He made 42 appearances in all competitions in his debut season and registered nine goals and seven assists for the club. The midfielder remained a key player under Hansi Flick and made 38 appearances in the 2019/20 season as Bayern won the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the DFB-Pokal.

He also enjoyed his most productive campaign on an individual level, registering eight goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

The Germany international struggled with illness and injury problems in the following two seasons, which limited him to 26 starts in all competitions in both 2020/21 and 2021/22.

He still managed to provide eight goals and eight assists for the club in 2020/21 but that dropped to three goals and three assists in 2021/22.

Goretzka put his injury issues behind him in 2022/23 and registered six goals and six assists in 40 appearances in all competitions as Bayern won their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title.

He was a regular under Thomas Tuchel in 2023/24 and Harry Kane, Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer were the only Bayern players to make more appearances than him.

The 29-year-old also registered six goals and 11 assists in his 42 appearances, but he was criticised for some poor performances and was left out of the Germany squad at Euro 2024.

He has now fallen out of favour under Kompany and has made just one substitute appearance at the start of this season.

“Leon has been at Bayern for a very, very long time. He was very successful and is a great player,” Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund said after a DFB Pokal first-round win against Ulm.

“We spoke to him and made it clear to him that there’s a lot of competition in his position. We are very well equipped there. Leon knows that. And that’s why the situation is like this at the moment, and why he’s not in the squad today.”