Manchester United have made an attempt to bring Thomas Muller in from Bayern Munich at the request of Erik ten Hag, according to a German reporter.
The approach reportedly came in the most recent January transfer window, but could be revisited in the next couple of months after Muller decided not to retire in the summer but to continue his career into the 2024-25 season.
Christian Falk from Bild has been explaining the situation, claiming Ten Hag told Man Utd to target Muller in January 2023 and could do again in January 2024.
At the age of 34 and with more than 30 trophies to his name, plus obvious Champions League pedigree, Muller would bring a wealth of experience to the Man Utd attack if they were able to get their hands on him.
According to Falk’s report for Bild, it is not guaranteed that Bayern will give Muller a contract beyond this season, despite his wish to keep playing for another year.
Therefore, his future at Bayern after 15 years has been thrown into doubt as the final six months of his contract approach.
Muller has spent his entire career so far with Bayern, where Ten Hag used to be the reserve-team manager between 2013 and 2015.
By that time, Muller was already well established with the first team – also becoming a World Cup winner with Germany in 2014 – and on his way to becoming a Bayern legend.
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During his one-club career, Muller has made 680 appearances for Bayern, scoring 237 goals and adding 261 assists. Only Gerd Muller and Robert Lewandowski have ever scored more goals for the club than him and only Sepp Maier has played in more games.
Muller also holds the record of making the most assists of any player in Bundesliga history, having carved out a niche for himself as a support striker or attacking midfielder.
It remains to be seen how Ten Hag would use him at Man Utd and in all honesty it seems unlikely a move will ever happen to make that become clear.
Age might prevent Man Utd firming up Muller interest
Muller might be outside the age range that Man Utd should be looking to invest in, although it is always important for squads to have a blend of experience and youth.
That said, there have been reports that Sir Jim Ratcliffe did not think it was smart to invest heavily on Casemiro when he was already in his thirties. Although a deal for Muller would be cheaper, Ratcliffe might advise against unnecessary purchases of veteran players when he takes his 25% stake in the club.
For context, Muller has previously confirmed that Man Utd tried to sign him as far back as 2014, but Bayern rejected their approach at the time.
It would be rare and extraordinary for a club to sign a player a decade after they originally intended, so it will be interesting to see any further developments to Falk’s story.
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