Alternative for Diaz: Liverpool attacker was ‘too expensive’ for Bayern | OneFootball

Bayern Munich winger Luis Diaz has struggled to recapture the form he displayed last season.

Diaz has decided to skip Colombia’s upcoming fixtures during the international break, which comes as good news for Bayern, with the winger seemingly in need of some rest.

Bayern do not have enough options on the left flank, so Diaz getting a timely break should come as a welcome boost for Vincent Kompany.

Bayern Munich: Search for a winger

During the summer transfer window, Bayern signed Ismael Saibari, a versatile forward, to bolster their attacking options.

Saibari is primarily viewed as a back-up for Harry Kane, although he can also operate as a No. 10 or in other attacking positions.

Bayern have enough depth on the right, with Michael Olise and Lennart Karl providing Kompany with two major options, but the same cannot be said on the left, where Diaz does not have a natural back-up.

Christian Falk has exclusively told CFBayern Insider that Bayern actively looked to bring in a left winger this summer who could provide an alternative to Diaz.

Bayern were thought to be interested in French winger Bradley Barcola, who is highly rated in Munich, but the Liverpool-bound attacker was ultimately deemed too expensive.

Falk added: “It’s a good decision for Luis Diaz to miss Colombia’s upcoming fixtures during the international break. Everyone is happy that Colombia agreed to this.

“The Bayern winger obviously played a very good World Cup for La Tricolor. This is also part of it. Last year, he didn’t have an international tournament to complicate his pre-season, so he had the energy to find his own way and figure things out at the start of the 2025/26 campaign.

“The other thing to note is that FC Bayern tried really hard to find an alternative for him, in order to grant Diaz a break at times this season.

“That’s why we were all wondering a little why Bayern agreed to send Arijon Ibrahimović on loan to FC Augsburg. At the time, the 20-year-old thought he’d be the man who could provide some cover for Luis Diaz.

“Max Eberl said Bayern tried to get cover in for the Colombian, but every alternative available on the market was too expensive, as we’ve discussed previously.

“Bradley Barcola, for instance, who is rated very highly in Munich, was simply too expensive, and ultimately he decided for Liverpool.

“Now, you have Alphonso Davies who can play in this position, but it’s not a normal alternative compared to the options on the opposite flank with Lennart Karl and Michael Olise, not to mention the young but exciting Tim Binder.

“You don’t have so many options on the left.”

Bradley Barcola: Expensive signing for Liverpool

Barcola moved from Paris Saint-Germain to Liverpool for a fee worth up to £123m.

PSG initially valued the 23-year-old at £145m, but Liverpool reached an agreement by paying an initial £106m plus £17m in potential add-ons.

While Liverpool have developed a habit of making £100m-plus signings, Bayern operate with a very different transfer strategy and were never going to match such a fee for Barcola.

The German giants do have money to spend, but they remain cautious in the transfer market and are unlikely to break their structure for one player.

Bayern could therefore revisit the winger market, either in January or next summer, particularly if Diaz fails to rediscover the form he showed last season.