Bayern Munich are currently looking for a new number two behind designated first-choice goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, with both current number one Manuel Neuer (40) and backup keeper Sven Ulreich (38) potentially set to end their careers in the summer.
Both contracts expire after the current season. Neuer, in particular, has repeatedly hinted in recent weeks and months that this could be his final campaign as an active professional.
"I don't play the games to say: This is my last game - regardless of whether it may have been my last time in one stadium or another. But it very much looks like I will stop," he said on the sidelines of the summer training camp at Tegernsee in August.
According to information from Bild, Bernd Leno has now emerged as a target for Bayern's decision-makers. The goalkeeper is currently under contract with Premier League club FC Fulham and has been a reliable first-choice presence there for years, putting him in line to succeed the two veterans.
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Which club has Bernd Leno already played for in the Bundesliga?
Leno already knows the Bundesliga from his time at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, where he made 304 appearances between 2012 and 2018. He has also played nine times for the Germany national team and, under Jürgen Klopp, some experts even believe he has a chance of returning to the DFB team. He last wore the Germany shirt in 2021.
For Bayern, it would help that the 34-year-old only has a contract at Fulham until 30 June 2027 and could be signed on a free transfer next summer. The London club are said to have an option to extend, but even then a transfer should not be overly expensive.
Leno himself could apparently imagine a return to Germany and the Bundesliga, even if he would presumably have to settle for number two status behind Urbig.
Getty ImagesWhich goalkeeper is also being linked with Bayern Munich?
More recently, Bild revealed in its podcast "Bayern Insider" that Augsburg's Finn Dahmen (28) is also on the record champions' list. Like Leno, the FC Augsburg goalkeeper fits the profile Bayern's bosses have in mind for the role of Urbig's future backup.
Even his coach Manuel Baum has already opened the door slightly to a move to Bayern. "If someone belongs among the best in the Bundesliga, then he is certainly a topic for the best teams in the Bundesliga. In Augsburg, it is already part of the philosophy that you sometimes let players go who perhaps perform above average," Baum told Bild.