How on earth do you replace the greatest goalscorer on planet earth? A man who has scored 344 times in 375 games, breaking the 50-goal barrier in two of the last three seasons? A man who continues to age like the finest bottle of red wine, and looks better than ever even as he approaches his 34th birthday?
That is a question Bayern Munich will have to answer, either this summer or the next.
The Bundesliga champions continue to form a united front, insisting that wantaway number nine Robert Lewandowski won’t be allowed to leave the Allianz Arena until his contract expires in 2023.
But the phrase ‘kicking the can down the road’ comes to mind. Bayern must prepare for life after Lewandowski, regardless of whether doomsday arrives in the coming weeks or the coming months. He will leave. It’s just a matter of ‘when’, not ‘if’.
Sadio Mane, according to sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, has been brought in not to succeed the prolific Pole but to compliment him. And it seems that reports suggesting Sasa Kalajdzic could be handed the unenviable task of replacing arguably the greatest centre-forward in Bayern’s storied history – a la Chris Pratt inheriting Harrison Ford’s whip and wise-cracks – were always a little wide of the mark.
Bayern Munich back away from Sasa Kalajdzic
Kalajdzic, according to Sport1, was seen not as Lewandowski’s replacement – contrary to popular belief – but the man to fill Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting’s boots instead. In short, the Stuttgart targetman would have been Julian Nagelsmann’s benchwarming Plan B, rather than his go-to goalscorer.
Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images
And with Choupo-Moting’s agent rubbishing reports of an impending move away from Bavaria, a deal for Kalajdzic – as far as Nagelsmann is concerned – is no longer a priority.
That is not to say the 6ft 7ins Austrian will still be a Stuttgart player in 2022/23. Far from it. As Kalajdzic’s agent tells Sport1; “There is no rush. The summer is still long.”
So too is Kalajdzic’s list of admirers. Southampton are keen (The Sun). So too West Ham United. Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, have reportedly accelerated their own interest in the £21 million giant, per Stuttgarter Nachricthen.
What’s more, Kajakdzic’s representatives were in England for talks earlier this month.
And with Harry Kane staying at Spurs – a repeat of last summer’s transfer saga not forthcoming – Kalajdzic would play a similar role in North London to the one he would have inherited in Bavaria. That of a back-up option; A player tasked with providing support for one of the planet’s finest number nines, easing the goalscoring burden while allowing Antonio Conte – or Nagelsmann – to rotate his frontline without fearing a dramatic drop in quality.
It almost felt as if Kalajdzic’s future was tethered to that of Lewandowski’s. Now, that chain has been broken.