Bayern sends missed bomber back to England
On the market front, Bayern Munich has made it clear that it will not redeem Nicolas Jackson at the end of the season. Eberl explained to broadcaster ZDF that the striker has not reached the minimum number of appearances required to activate the purchase option, so he will return to Chelsea after his one-year loan.
Former honorary president Uli Hoeness added that the redemption would be mandatory if Jackson had collected at least 40 starting appearances, for a fee of around 65 million euros. So far, however, the player has only totaled 13 starts and 29 total appearances with Bayern.
In his second season at Bayern Munich, Michael Olise has already put together impressive numbers: 19 goals and 32 assists in all competitions, so much so that he is considered untransferable. This is reiterated by Max Eberl, a member of the Bavarian club’s board of directors, who has ruled out any possibility of a transfer despite the interest of several European clubs.
Despite the Bavarian club’s clear stance, market rumors around Olise have never subsided over the course of the season. According to rumors circulated in recent weeks, Real Madrid has prepared a €160 million bid for the Frenchman’s card, for a total deal in excess of €200 million considering also the contract to be offered to the player. Florentino Perez would be a great admirer of the 2001-born talent, whom he would like to include in a dream trident along with Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior. Paris Saint-Germain would also be monitoring the situation, in the event of a departure of Ousmane Dembélé, the current Ballon d’Or whose renewal with the Parisians is far from a foregone conclusion.
Bayern, however, can rely on an armored contract until 2029, with no rescission clauses, to fend off any assault. Sporting director Christoph Freund had already made the club’s position clear months ago: “Michael has been simply outstanding since he joined us. He plays every game, is extremely consistent and already has outstanding quality. It is a pleasure to have such a player in the team.” Words that, combined with Eberl’s steadfastness, draw an impassable wall around the French star.
Olise’s performances have also won over club legends. Claudio Pizarro, a historic Peruvian striker who wore the Bayern jersey in two different periods, compared him to Arjen Robben, the Dutch winger who for years was the symbol of the Bavarian game: “I think Michael Olise is currently playing at the level of Arjen Robben. He dribbles towards the center and scores exactly the same goals with his shot on the turn that Arjen scored in his day. Olise is getting better every game, every season, and I think that is an outstanding quality for a player.”
As for Jackson’s future after returning to Chelsea, his name has already entered strongly into the strategies of several clubs. In Italy, both AC Milan and Juventus have reportedly evaluated the Senegalese striker’s profile as a possible reinforcement for their offensive department. The Rossoneri in particular, grappling with a deep restructuring of the attack, would have included him in the list of candidates along with other profiles such as Robert Lewandowski and Mateo Retegui.
