Bayern's top transfer targets: The chances of signing de Jong, de Ligt and Pavard
Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt and Benjamin Pavard are all said to be on Bayern München's wishlist. We take a look at the club's chances of signing the three highly-rated players.
With the January transfer market just around the corner, Ajax duo Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt and VfB Stuttgart's Benjamin Pavard have all been linked with a move to Bayern München - either in the winter or next summer.
However, they have all caught interest from numerous other European top clubs as well - so how good are Bayern's odds of getting the deals over the line?
Speaking after Bayern's 3-3 game with Ajax on Wednesday evening, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic praised de Jong and de Ligt and talked about the January transfer market.
"They are both good players, and they had a great game," he told Sky and added:
"We have to see what we need. We will analyze this in peace, but the transfer market will be exciting".
Reportedly, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are leading the race for Frenkie de Jong, who is said to cost €75 million, with Dutch media outlet De Telegraaf even claiming that the 21-year-old has decided he wants to join the French champions.
However, after Wednesday's Champions League match, the 21-year-old insisted he hasn't made a decision about his future yet.
According to Bild, Bayern probably have better odds of signing de Ligt, who could cost around €60-75 million, as the defender is said to be drawn to the Bundesliga.
It could be a problem, however, that the 19-year-old defender's representative, Barry Hulshoff, is working with star agent Mino Raiola.
The German tabloid suggests that Raiola's involvement gives Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus an advantage as the agent has great contacts at the two clubs.
With regard to Benjamin Pavard, both Bild and Kicker have reported that a deal that will take the French international to the Allianz Arena for €35 million in the summer is already in place.
A few days ago, Sky reported that Pavard wants to make the move in January, but that doesn't seem likely.
Stuttgart boss Michael Reschke has made it clear that there are no plans to let Pavard go in January, and on Wednesday, Salihamidzic said that it's unlikely that the French international will join Bayern in the winter.
"I think Stuttgart are in a difficult situation and that it will not be possible in the winter," the Bayern boss said.