Jonathan Tah came close to joining Bayern Munich from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2024, but differences in valuations of the center back between the two club’s front office ultimately prevented the move from taking place then. Fast forward to summer 2025, and Bayern was able to secure the signing of the defender that Max Eberl has long been an admirer of, and his move was able to get expedited to have him with the squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Under Vincent Kompany,
Tah has become an integral piece of Bayern’s backline and is a part of the Belgian manager’s preferred center back pairing alongside Dayot Upamecano. So far this season, the former Leverkusen man had made a total of twenty-two appearances, having tallied two goals and two assists along the way, the most recent of which came in Bayern’s 4-0 win at Heideheim on the final Bundesliga match day of 2025.
Of course, Tah was never going to be brought into Bayern to be a backup option in defense, but he has acclimated to a new club quite well, living up to the anticipation of his signing even though it was technically a free transfer fee. Last summer, Bayern was prepared to pay up to 35-40 million euros to sign him before negotiations eventually broke down with Leverkusen.
In a recent interview with Az (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Tah explained that Kompany was one of the biggest reasons he wanted to come to Bayern. “Vincent Kompany was a decisive factor in my transfer because he convinced me and I felt that I could grow and improve further under him. I can learn a lot from him because he was one of the best players in my position during his time – and above all, a true leader,” the towering center back explained.
Specifically, there have been a lot of tactics at Bayern implemented by Kompany that Tah feels have helped take his own game to the next level, as well as the rest of the squad. “The activity we show when defending, the way we defend together as a team, what he demands, also from the attacking players, how much they have to get involved. And then also small details that I don’t want to reveal,” he said.
Bayern could do with conceding from set piece situations less, but Tah is hardly at fault for that being a defensive shortcoming for the German Rekordmeister. Their opponents know that chances come few a far between against a very well organized, hard-working defensive unit, and a result, place more emphasis on the attacking set pieces they get against Bayern.
