By Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- While Bayern coach Niko Kovac and his team jet off to Qatar to attend a mid-season training camp until January 10, sports director Hasan Salihamidzic is traveling around the world to finalize significant deals for the club's future.
"Our sports director is on fire," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge commented promising to break previous limits. Bayern have to invest more than 200 million euros to preserve a top level, which is competitive enough to win the Champions League.
Fans will most likely have to wait for summer to cheer new faces despite Salihamidzic emphasized possible early surprises.
With the winter transfer window open till the end of the month, the 2013 treble winners are heavily linked to several interesting options after 18-year-old Canadian talent Alphonso Davis joined the side from Vancouver Whitecaps for 14 million euros.
Besides the 22-year-old defender Lucas Hernandez from Atletico Madrid, Bayern is said to be interested in Chelsea talent Callum Hudson-Odoi, Benjamin Pavard (VfB Stuttgart), Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) and Kai Havertz (Bayer Leverkusen).
According to the TV station Sky, Chelsea has rejected a recent 22.5 million offer made by Bayern but is still willing to sell the 18-year-old winger who has emerged as one of the breakout talents of the current season.
The Blues expect 30-40 million euros for the youngster after announcing a 64-million deal for Dortmund midfielder Christian Pulisic. The US-born international will join the Blues next summer. Until then the 20-year-old remains with the Blacks and Yellows on loan. Chelsea is said to have agreed on the deal to avoid a possible transfer ban.
According to media reports, Bayern and Atletico have agreed on further negotiations on an 80-million-euro deal for Hernandez.
The Hamburg-based sports magazine Sport Bild said Bayern is keen on 18-year-old French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni from Girondins Bordeaux.
But not only to buy seems Bayern's topic but to sell some of its established forces such as the 2014 World Champions Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng, and James Rodriguez and Robert Lewandowski.
While Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, and Rafinha are expected to leave at the end of the 2018/2019 season, Hummels, Boateng and Lewandowski could follow. "Hummels and Boateng face a difficult second half of the season as successors are waiting," Lothar Matthaeus said. The former German international recommended to sign Hernandez as soon as possible.
Star striker Lewandowski expressed his "full concentration on Bayern", saying it is possible to stay with the club until the end of his career. But some reports said the Pole is still eying a move to Real Madrid.
