Bayern Munich cannot dip into free agent market to strengthen defense | OneFootball

The last few days have been devastating for Bayern Munich on the injury front. They lost Alphonso Davies for more than six months due to a knee injury. The Canadian left-back suffered a knee injury during the international break. Bayern will also be without the services of Dayot Upamecano for six weeks due to a knee injury.

To make things worse, Bayern lost Hiroki Ito for several months due to a metatarsal injury. The Japanese defender suffered this injury after coming on against St. Pauli in the second half on Tuesday. Ito has confirmed on social media that he will miss the rest of the season.

Tarek Buchmann remains on the sidelines as he continues to struggle with injuries. The youngster was expected to get minutes with the first team in the last 18 months, but different injuries have kept him on the sidelines.

As things stand, Bayern have Eric Dier and Kim Min-jae as the only fit senior center-backs available for the rest of the season. Josip Stanisic, Leon Goretzka, and Joshua Kimmich can play in central defense but it is not their best position.

For the last three months of the season, Bayern cannot dip into the free agency market to get some cover in the defense. According to Sky Sports, DFL doesn’t allow clubs to sign players on free agent during the second half of the season once the winter window slams shut at the end of January.

Vincent Kompany will hope that Dier and Kim Min-jae see out the season and step up to help Bayern achieve the objectives for the rest of the season.

Bayern plan summer signings in central defense

The record Bundesliga champions are hoping to strengthen the heart of the defense in the summer. Die Roten have been keeping a close eye on several young defenders over the last six months. They have heavily scouted Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande along with keeping tabs on Valencia’s Cristian Mosquera. Bayern has also been linked with Benfica’s Antonio Silva in the past. Bournemouth's impressive young defender Dean Huijsen is also on Bayern's radar.

Along with plans to sign at least one central defender in the summer, Rekordmeister have decided to extend Eric Dier’s contract. The English defender will likely get a one-year contract extension in the coming days. Dier is open to staying in Munich, so expect the contract negotiations to wrap up sooner rather than later.