‘That’s not Bayern Munich’ - German icon blasts transfer policy amid Kieran Trippier links

Lothar Matthaus has ripped into Bayern Munich’s transfer policy as talk continues to ramp up regarding Kieran Trippier.

Newcastle United fans were dealt a shock at the weekend when reports linking Trippier with the German champions began to emerge. Bayern supporters were also stunned after their side were beaten 1-0 at home by Werder Bremen.

The defeat leaves Thomas Tuchel’s side five points adrift from Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who remain undefeated following their thrilling 3-2 win over RB Leipzig. German icon Matthaus, who won six league titles at Bayern, slammed the club’s transfer policy post-match.

Tuchel signed Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur despite him barely kicking a ball under Ange Postecoglou this season. If Trippier arrived, he would be the third Englishman - and former Spurs man - to join the Bavarians, with Harry Kane paving the way last summer.

“That’s not Bayern Munich for me,” Matthaus fumed to the Sky90 podcast. “Bayern should focus on reinforcement or on young players. Bayern Munich have very good youth players and Christoph Freund (Bayern’s sporting director) is responsible for that. He has a good network.

“In the summer it was said, ‘We can let (Benjamin) Pavard and (Josip) Stanisic go and get someone else instead’. Then they didn’t get anyone else. As a result, they’ve got problems at right-back and in the centre. They thought, ‘We’ll manage that’. No, they reacted too late. The team can’t find itself.

“Bayern need more depth and reinforcements, but are these players reinforcements? Eric Dier wasn’t necessarily a key player at Tottenham recently. I remember Uli Hoeness (Bayern’s former president) once saying ‘We won’t be bringing in any more players who are sitting on the bench at other clubs’. The latest transfer looks different.”