The Daily Mail is reporting that Bayern Munich will give Pep Guardiola a £240m transfer kitty this summer.
According to the French newspaper L’Equipe, Guardiola’s two top targets are Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, and Atletico Madrid’s striker Radamel Falcao.
Suarez is contracted to Anfield until 2018 and would reportedly cost approximately £40m. Falcao would cost closer to £50m.
Suarez just signed a new deal with Liverpool at the start of the season, meaning that they will be under no pressure to sell their best player. But if Liverpool don’t qualify for the Champions League next season, a likely scenario, then Suarez might be tempted to a move to Bayern.
Suarez cost Liverpool a reported £22.8m when they bought him from Ajax in 2011, so a £40m transfer fee means that they will almost double their money. But the challenge for Liverpool will be finding someone as good as Suarez, at a lower price, to replace him?
At Barcelona, Guardiola brought the false number nine into vogue, so it is interesting that the first names that he is linked with are strikers.
The other interesting thing about these media reports, is that Bayern are having no trouble scoring goals this season. They have scored 48 goals in 19 league games (2.52 avg per game). That is more than Man United (2.48 avg) and just less than Juventus (2.55 avg). The only top side that is scoring more goals is Barcelona (2.76 avg).
As for the size of the transfer kitty, Bayern will have no trouble affording that. The latest Deloitte report, has Bayern as the fourth biggest club in the world with revenues of €386m last seaosn.