By Andrew Lord

30 June 2022

This preview will be constantly updated until the 2022/23 season begins.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich made it ten in a row last season and the Bavarians have signed the 30-year-old forward Sadio Mané in a €32 million move from Liverpool.

Mané chose Bayern Munich after positive discussions with trainer Julian Nagelsmann: “I spoke with my agent and the project was the best for me, even though I had other offers. Bayern is the right club and it was the right moment to move on and come here to do my best and help the team win more trophies. I met the coach which was really important to know the project. When he talked to me about the team, the way they play and tactics, I was fascinated.”

Dutch centre-back Matthijs de Ligt has joined the club from Juventus in a €70m deal, which could eventually rise to €80m with bonus payments. The 22-year-old has signed a contract until 2027 and becomes Bayern Munich’s second biggest signing after Lucas Hernández, who cost the club €80m when he was signed from Atlético Madrid in 2019.

The club has also signed Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax on a five-year deal for €18.5m, which could eventually rise to €24m, and Moroccan right-back Noussair Mazraoui on a free transfer.

Bayern Munich has signed Mathys Tel, one of the biggest talents in Europe, from Stade Rennes for a fee of €20 million with potential add-ons worth €8.5 million. The 17-year-old forward played just 64 minutes for Rennes, but he led France to glory in the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

It is said that the Bavarians are close to signing Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt, who wants to leave Juventus.

Robert Lewandowski has left the club to join Barcelona for a fee of around €45 million with possible bonus payments of €5 million. The Polish striker had one year left on his contract and had made it clear he would not sign a contract extension, expressing a desire to join the Catalan club. The 33-year-old scored 238 goals in 253 appearances in all competitions for the Bavarians in eight years at the club. He won eight Bundesliga titles, was named 2021 Best Fifa Men’s Player of the Year and won the Champions League.

In the 2020/21 Bundesliga season, Lewandowski scored 41 league goals, beating Gerd Müller’s total of 40 achieved in the 1971/72 season. On 22 September 2015, the Polish striker scored five goals in just nine minutes against VfL Wolfsburg.

Fortunately, Bayern Munich has averted losing another forward after Serge Gnabry signed a contract extension with the club following many months of negotiations. the 27-year-old, who has scored 64 goals in 171 games in all competitions, has committed himself to Bayern Munich until 2026.

German international centre-back Niklas Süle has also left the club, joining Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer and Spanish midfielder Marc Roca has signed for Leeds for a fee of €12 million. French midfielder Corentin Tolisso has joined Lyon after being released by the Bavarian club.

After just one season at the club, left-back Omar Richards has returned to the English Premier League to join Nottingham Forest for a fee of around €8.5 million. The deal represents a large profit for Bayern Munich, who signed Richards on a free transfer from Reading last summer. The 24-year-old played 17 games for the Bavarians, 11 of which saw him brought on from the substitutes bench. The weeky magazine Sport Bild has reported that Bayern Munich has also secured bonus payments worth €1.5 million and 15% of any future transfer fee for the England U21 international.

Centre-back Lars Lukas Mai has signed for Swiss Super League club Lugano in a €1.5 million deal, while 22-year-old striker Jann-Fiete Arp, once rated one of the biggest prospects in German football, has left the club to sign for Holstein Kiel. Club sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić said: “Unfortunately, expectations are sometimes not fulfilled, we discussed our options at length with Fiete and in the end we were all agreed that it’s best for Fiete to pursue a new path. We wish him luck and every success for the new challenge.”

Another young player to leave the club is Turkish U17 international Kenan Yildiz, who has joined Juventus on a free transfer. Contract negotiations with the attacking midfielder collapsed after Bayern Munich refused to agree to the 17-year-old’s financial demands.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old US international Malik Tillman has joined Glasgow Rangers on a season-long loan.

In two pre-season friendlies, Bayern Munich beat D.C. United 6-2 and lost 1-0 to Manchester City.

Bayern Munich play RB Leipzig in the DFL Supercup at the Red Bull Arena on 30 July 2022. The Bavarians have recorded the most Supercup victories with nine wins, while RB Leipzig, as German Cup winners, will play in the competition for the first time.

Bayern Munich start the Bundesliga season with an away fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt on 5 August 2022.

Borussia Dortmund

New Dortmund trainer Edin Terzić has been busy in the transfer market, signing Karim Adeyemi in a €30 million deal from RB Salzburg and Turkish international midfielder Salih Özcan from Cologne for €5 million. The club are hoping that the defensive weaknesses of recent years will be rectified by the signing of centre-backs Nico Schlotterbeck for €20 million from Freiburg and Niklas Süle on a free transfer from Bayern Munich. Last season, Dortmund conceded 52 goals in the league, which was the eighth worst defensive record in the Bundesliga.

One of the reasons behind Süle leaving Bayern Munich is the lack of appreciation he feels he has received throughout his career: “Despite all of the sporting success in my career, I have not always been respected in the way I think I deserve. In the discussions with Borussia Dortmund I was given this respect immediately and in a convincing manner.”

Dortmund scored 85 league goals last season, but 20 were scored by Erling Haaland who has left the club to join Manchester City in a deal worth €60 million.

Dortmund’s record signing Sébastien Haller, a €31 million signing from Ajax, has been diagnosed with a testicular tumour. In a message on social media, Haller told fans: “I want to thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all these many warm messages received I was very moved to see these beautiful reactions and I even feel like I don’t deserve so much. But I know that thanks to you it will only be one more test on our way. See you very soon in the ground to celebrate our next victories.”

The absence of Haller, which is expected to be for many months, led Dortmund to sign 34-year-old Anthony Modeste from Cologne for €5.1 million.

Trainer Edin Terzic, the replacement for Marco Rose who was sacked at the end of last season, is delighted that he has been able to appoint 70-year-old Peter Hermann as his assistant: “Peter is one of the most experienced and best in the business. It was important for me to convince him of our approach. Peter will really enhance our team.“

Matthias Sammer, external consultant at Dortmund, told the Sächsische Zeitung newspaper that the team must show more consistency in the forthcoming season: “We also have to show our quality on rainy days when we face obstacles and setbacks. Borussia Dortmund has not shown this consistency at the top level of late.”

Ex-Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel, who was a free agent after his contract expired, has joined Atlético Madrid, while French centre-back Dan-Axel Zagadou has been released.

In pre-season friendlies, Borussia Dortmund recorded a 3-1 victory over Lüner SV, followed by a 2-0 win against Dynamo Dresden, a 5-0 win over SC Verl, the club then lost 3-1 to Valencia and 2-0 against Villareal.

Borussia Dortmund kick off the new season with a German Cup away fixture against Bundesliga 3 side 1860 Munich on 29 July 2022 and the Bundesliga season begins with a home game against Bayer Leverkusen on 6 August 2022.

Bayer Leverkusen

It has been quiet on the transfer front for Leverkusen. The main signing so far has been 19-year-old Czech striker Adam Hložek, a €13m signing from Sparta Prague.

Meanwhile, Argentine forward Lucas Alario has joined Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of €6m, Mitchell Weiser has signed for Werder Bremen on a free transfer and the club has released Austrian defensive midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger.

Swiss trainer Gerardo Seoane, who has joined the club from BSC Young Boys, has announced his aims for the news season: “Our aim is to have more options at all levels as opponents are increasingly going to be aware of us over time. So, everybody has to develop physically, tactically, technically but also mentally to be able to improve and deliver results.”

Leverkusen beat MSV Duisburg 6-1 in the first pre-season friendly of the summer, followed by a 0-0 draw with Panathinaikos and a 2-1 victory over Udinese Calcio.

Bayer Leverkusen start the season with a German Cup first round fixture away to
SV Elversberg on 30 July 2022 and the Bundesliga season kicks off with an away game versus Borussia Dortmund on 6 August 2022.

RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig, who will be hoping to add to their first piece of silverware after winning the German Cup last season, has been buoyed by the news that French international forward Christopher Nkunku has signed a contract extension until 2026. According to German football magazine Kicker, contrary to expectations, the contract does not include a release clause for next summer.

The club has also signed the Austrian midfielder Xaver Schlager for €12 million from VfL Wolfsburg and midfielder David Raum from Hoffenheim for a fee of €25 million, while Timo Werner has rejoined the club for €20 million following an unhappy spell with Chelsea.

South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan has signed for English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers for €16.70m, Dutch striker Brian Brobbey has joined Ajax Amsterdam in a deal that could eventually be worth €19.35 million, while 23-year-old US international Tyler Adams has joined Leeds United for a fee of €17 million. The deal reunites the defensive midfielder with trainer Jesse Marsch after their time at New York Red Bulls. French defender Nordi Mukiele has joined Paris Saint-Germain for €12 million.

RB Leipzig will have to start the season without forward Yussuf Poulsen, the Danish international will not play until September due to a left adductor muscle injury.

RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff has highlighted Xaver Schlager as just the type of player the club is looking to sign, while emphasising the importance of successfully negotiating the contract extensions of players such as Christopher Nkunku, Marcel Halstenberg and Kevin Kampl. He stated that the aims for the forthcoming season include Champions League qualification and progressing through the group stage of the competition.

In the first pre-season fixture, RB Leipzig beat Southampton 3-1, followed by a 5-0 defeat against Liverpool.

RB Leipzig face Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup at the Red Bull Arena on 30 July 2022. It will be the first time RB Leipzig has played in the competition. RB Leipzig start the Bundesliga season with an away game against VfB Stuttgart on 7 August 2022.

© Andrew Lord 2022