Bayern Munich fans have been ridiculously spoiled by the club’s rich history of world class goalkeepers. Sepp Maier (537 appearances), Oliver Kahn (429 appearances), and Manuel Neuer (375 appearances) have all spent more than a decade protecting the nets for Bayern.
All good things must come to an end. For the past few years, Bayern has been on the hunt for Neuer’s successor. Luckily, Neuer has withstood the test of time. However, Neuer also turns 40 in March.
“We’re very happy with the goalkeeper situation,” said Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund (via @iMiaSanMia). “Manu is playing with exceptional energy. Both sides are super happy that he’s fit and healthy. We’re under no time pressure and will discuss it openly, it works really well that way. When Jonas (Urbig) has been in goal, he’s always done a great job. He benefits from Manu and Ulle, and not just in training. And then we also have goalkeepers like Daniel Peretz. The plan was for him to be in goal in Hamburg. That’s not the case at the moment, so we’re in discussions with him and the management about how we can improve that — whether at Hamburg or in the transfer window. But there’s still plenty of time.”
Both Urbig and Peretz have shown flashes of brilliance but lack the consistency and experience to overtake Neuer as the number one option at Bayern. It is particularly interesting to note that loanee Alexander Nübel was not mentioned. Perhaps the club has internally removed Nübel as a future option.
