Sports director Hasan Salihamidzic is praised for the transfer by Alexander Nübel. What was his real part in the deal and how did the talks go?
One name that is conspicuously often associated with the transfer of Alexander Nübel at FC Bayern is Hasan Salihamidzic.
Head of the board Karl-Heinz Rummenigge recently praised the coup of the sports director in the tz with the words: “Hasan did a very good job. Even head coach Hansi Flick, who hasn’t always been in agreement with Salihamidzic on personnel issues, found almost identical words a few days ago. Now ex-president Uli Hoeneß added to the kicker by calling the Nübel deal a “brilliant deed”.
Nübel transfer: Salihamidzic followed Tapalovic impulse
In fact, Alexander Nübel’s transfer is a transfer that the Bald sports board can be proud of. Salihamidzic was involved in the discussions with the player and his management from start to finish.
However, a decisive impulse came from Toni Tapalovic more than two years ago. According to SPORT1 information, the long-time FC Bayern goalkeeping coach with Schalker Vergangenheit Nübel recommended his bosses. Tapalovic had been following the 23-year-old’s path for years and saw great potential in him from the outset, including for Bayern’s breakthrough.
Bayern interested in Nübel for over two years
The first time there was a change to FC Bayern was in the 2017/18 season, when it was not yet clear whether Sven Ulreich would extend his contract with FCB. Manuel Neuer’s replacement represented the FCB captain at the time, because the captain had been struggling with a broken metatarsus until May 2018.
Ulreich finally extended until 2021, Neuer returned to the Bayern box after the World Cup in Russia and because a transfer to FC Augsburg in winter 2018 was thwarted, Nübel stayed with Schalke. There the goalkeeping talent made a breakthrough in the second half of the 2018/19 season, playing a strong U21 European Championship last summer.
Nübel did not extend his contract with the royal blue team. Perhaps also because intensive talks with the Bayern managers are said to have already taken place before the U21 European Championship in June. Already in April 2019, we reported exclusively that the Munich team had Nübel on their radar and wanted to sign him at all costs.
Rummenigge trusts sports director and head scout
In any case, Salihamidzic took the negotiations with the native of Paderborn seriously. Together with chief scout Marco Neppe he travelled to Dortmund to hold talks with Nübel and his management on site. Rummenigge only intervened by telephone after information in order to substantiate the interest of the Bavarians. Salihamidzic and Neppe enjoyed full confidence in the discussions.
In the Nübel Poker, however, the Bavarians were not alone. Numerous interested parties from Germany and abroad sought him out because he delivered top performances at the time and his replacement free change in the summer of 2020 had become increasingly apparent, even though Schalke wanted to extend with Nübel in the long term for lucrative pay.