Rumour: Manchester United preparing £56 million bid for Bayern Munich's Thomas Muller
Thomas Muller and Louis van Gaal could be set for a reunion at Manchester United
Manchester United are set to make a bid for Thomas Muller, The Guardian reports. Bayern Munich wants to keep hold of the 25-year-old but United are reportedly set to test their resolve by tabling a bid estimated to be around £56 million.
German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has already moved from Munich to United and The Bavarians are unlikely to do further business with the English club. That has however not stopped United from reviving their interest in the player as they look to entice him away by offering a salary of £265,000 a week, nearly double of what he earns at Bayern.
Muller is a fan-favourite among the club faithful, but the same cannot be said of his equation with Pep Guardiola. The Bayern manager has more than once dropped the forward from his starting line-up leading to a frosty relationship between the two. The pair even had a heated exchange on the touchline after the forward was substituted with Bayern trailing 1-0 in their UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg clash against Barcelona.
The German international, who signed a five-year contract last summer, though looked to have sorted out his differences with his manager and stated earlier in the month that he was staying at Bayern. Speaking to German newspaper SportBild, Muller said: “Any request from a big club is an honour but I feel well at Bayern and my contract runs until 2019. There is nothing more to say about these speculations.”
Bayern have plenty of reasons to worry
Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had stated that all clubs in Germany had reasons to worry at the way the English clubs were surpassing them in terms of finance.
"Looking at the transfer market you can see how active the English sides are at the moment. The Bundesliga needs to be careful not to be emptied of its talent by selling to England", Rummenigge said, according to Marca.
The statement was made after Schweinsteiger’s move to United and what will be unsettling him and the Bayern fans further is the good bond shared by Van Gaal and Muller. The Dutchman, during his spell in charge at Bayern, gave the then 18-year-old Muller his breakthrough in the 2008/09 season and the duo have had a cordial relationship ever since.
Manchester United are in the market for a striker
United manager Louis van Gaal’s press conference ahead of their game against San Jose Earthquakes has added fuel to the reports with the Dutchman confirming that the club are indeed looking to add a forward to their ranks.
Van Gaal said, "He is in the process. It's not the striker the media has written about. You have to wait and see. The transfer period is open until the 1 September so we have to wait," according the official United website.
The 63-year-old also spoke about Chicharito’s situation at United, stating that he was part of his plans. "I have long-term expectations, but you never know in this football world. But yes, normally I have long-term expectations of Javier Hernandez,” he was quoted as saying by Manchester United’s official website.