Bayern Munich Chief Lays Out Plan of Attack for Chelsea, Real Madrid Target | OneFootball

Bayern Munich’s board member for sport, Max Eberl, brazenly confirmed his club’s interest in the sought-after VfB Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade, although questioned the prices that have been quoted.

Woltemade has seen his stock soar over the past 12 months. The towering striker joined Stuttgart on a free last summer with a record of just two Bundesliga goals in 41 appearances. One year later, the so-called ‘two-metre Messi’ has reportedly attracted admiring glances from Chelsea and Real Madrid.

Bayern, naturally, have also been drawn to a 23-year-old who notched up 17 goals last term before finishing as top scorer at the U21 European Championships en route to the final with Germany.

“The whole world now knows that Nick is a player of interest to us,” Eberl told assembled journalists following Bayern’s 4–2 victory over Flamengo at the Club World Cup. “That’s no longer a secret.”

However, Eberl rejected Stuttgart’s supposed asking price of €80 million (£68.4 million, $93.8 million). “There’s a framework within which you can say, ‘It’s a good fit’,” he noted.

Nick Woltemade shone at the European U21 Championship this summer. / IMAGO/DeFodi Images

“You have a player in mind, and you would sign him if the opportunity arose. But there’s also a budget, a framework, where you say, ‘This is what you can do’.”

“I don’t think Stuttgart wants to rip us off,” the increasingly under-pressure executive tactically added. “Our relationship is far too good for that. I hope we can enter the negotiations in a reasonably neutral and objective manner. I hope Stuttgart doesn’t block Woltemade’s move.”

Bayern are supposedly willing to stretch to as much as €50 million (£42.7 million, $58.6 million) for Woltemade, BILD claim, but Eberl stressed the difficulties that can come from such high-profile proceedings. “If negotiations are conducted in public, it usually won’t lead to a good outcome,” he huffed, after making Bayern’s interest explicitly public.

The German champions took a similar approach in their pursuit of Florian Wirtz. Back in February, Bayern board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge declared: “Everyone at FC Bayern agrees that he [Wirtz] is exactly the player we want to sign.” Liverpool beat the Bavarians to the punch, with Eberl later moaning that his side couldn’t have matched the record-breaking finances put forward by the Reds.

“In the first step, you say, ‘Damn’,” Eberl reflected. “But one door closes, another opens.” Whether they will be able to squeeze Woltemade through that door remains to be seen.