Germany legend Lothar Matthaus slates Eric Dier loan and Kieran Trippier transfer talk saying ‘that’s not Bayern Munich’
THE LEGENDARY Lothar Matthaus has slammed Bayern Munich over the signing of Eric Dier and their pursuit of Kieran Trippier.
The World Cup-winning German icon lifted the Bundesliga title seven times as well as the Uefa Cup during his two stints playing for the club.
Now working as a pundit in his homeland, he still keeps a close eye on things at the Allianz Arena.
However, Matthaus does not seem to be too impressed with recent developments on the transfer front.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are currently seven points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
And after splashing out £104m for Harry Kane last summer, Tuchel swooped to bring in fellow Englishman Dier from Tottenham, who had played just four times for Spurs this term, earlier this month.
The 30-year-old defender is not the only reinforcement from the Premier League that Bayern are looking to bring in.
They have also opened talks with Newcastle, who are demanding a £13m fee, for Three Lions international full-back Trippier, 33.
Now Matthaus has ripped into his old club and said that welcoming a Tottenham benchwarmer or bringing in older players is not in line with their identity.
He told the Sky 90 podcast: “Bayern need more depth and reinforcements, but are these players reinforcements? Eric Dier wasn’t necessarily a key player at Tottenham recently.
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“I remember Uli Hoeness (Bayern’s honorary president) once saying that, ‘We won’t be bringing in any more players who are sitting on the bench at other clubs’. The latest transfer looks different.”
Regarding Trippier, who won LaLiga during his previous stint abroad in Spain with Atletico Madrid, Matthaus said: “Kieran Trippier would be a similar case. That’s not Bayern Munich for me.
“Bayern should focus on reinforcements or on the young players. Aleksander Pavlovic sat out against Bremen and wasn’t substituted. When he did play, he was always outstanding.
“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’, and 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.”
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