The eyes of the footballing world are fully fixated on the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada right now and for Germany fans, on the round of 32 match in Foxborough this coming Monday. Behind the scenes, though, the summer transfer window is open and Bayern Munich have been conducting their business while the world’s biggest tournament takes place and they’ve agreed on a deal with Eintracht Frankfurt to sign left back Nathaniel Brown.
Brown started Germany’s first two group stage matches
against Curaçao and Côte d’Ivoire, but was rested due to carrying a slight adductor problem for the 2-1 loss to Ecuador in New Jersey, though it was essentially a dead rubber match for Germany since they had already clinched advancement to the knockouts and first place in Group E.
The latest reports coming out of Munich have said all of the terms and conditions between Bayern and Frankfurt have been agreed and that Brown will have his medical in the United States ahead of a move to the German Rekordmeister that will keep him at the club through 2031.
Per new information from Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), a big part of the reason why a deal wasn’t finalized any sooner came down to the fine details of the fixed rate Bayern have to pay for Frankfurt for the deal to go through. For months, there was an understanding that a €55m total transfer fee wouldn’t exactly mean a €50m fixed fee upfront for Bayern, as they were hoping to have something agreed with a lower fixed rate + add-ons for the deal to be finalized.
Developments in the middle of this week eventually led to Bayern to agree to pay a fixed rate of €50m with an additional €5 in add-ons, though the deal reportedly was never really in danger of collapsing at any point, due largely in part to Brown’s desire to join Bayern and no other club.
Vincent Kompany fully expects to use Brown as a starter in Bayern’s defense next season, so his arrival at the club will certainly have ramifications elsewhere in the squad. Japan international Hiroki Itō could still wind up leaving Bayern this summer and Brown’s arrival could expedite that sentiment while Alphonso Davies’ place in Kompany’s starting lineups could also be in jeopardy. The Canadian defender has struggled with injuries this past season and never really hit the ground running as far as what Bayern fans have come to expect from him since he joined from the Vancouver Whitecaps.
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