Chelsea and Arsenal realize Bayern Munich's Chris Richards is legit
Finally tuning into what the "smarts" have known for a while, Chelsea and Arsenal are seeking to capitalize on Bayern Munich's unreal squad depth by attempting to make American prospect Chris Richards a transfer target.
In a piece by The Express, Arsenal and Chelsea are listed as potential suitors for the 20-year-old defensive phenom, who is a true center-back that can also play right-back. Richards is stuck in a bit of a defensive logjam this season as Bayern Munich has worked through the since-injured Niklas Sule, David Alaba, Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard, Jerome Boateng, Alphonso Davies, and Alvaro Odriozola among its back-line contingent. When Joshua Kimmich made the permanent move to the central midfield, Bayern coach Hansi Flick decided to deploy Benjamin Pavard at right-back, David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and Lucas Hernandez rotating through center-back, and Alphonso Davies at left-back.
The results have been outstanding.
Sule's injury opened up some playing time defensively, but even without the big man --- and the oft-injured Hernandez for huge chunks of time --- Bayern still has a lot of depth. With Javi Martinez as yet another player capable of contributing at center-back, it has been hard for Bayern's top two defensive prospects (Richards and Lars Lukas Mai) to break into the lineup.
The time is coming, however, where Richards and Mai are going to have to make the move to the first-team or move on from Munich. Richards is a dynamic prospect. He's big (6-foot-2), agile, fast, and is a tremendous passer. He is what an new-age version of Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels might look like. Mai is no slouch either, which leaves Bayern with much to consider this summer.
Alaba is currently working through a decision to extend his deal with Bayern or to make an exit, but the 27-year-old has been a godsend at center-back for the Bavarians. Martinez is expected to leave Bayern or accept a deep reserve role, while Odriozola is going to return to Real Madrid from his loan assignment this summer. With Sule expected to be healthy for next season and Hernandez as part of the rotation, playing time would still be hard to come by for both Richards and Mai...which leads to talk of transfer or loans.
Enter Chelsea (with Christian Pulisic!) and Arsenal.
It's always tough to be certain on how a player will pan out, but I'm pretty confident that Richards has the necessary talent, ability, mindset, fortitude, and work ethic to be a star. The kid is just a stud on every level and has persevered where many others might have given up or not been brave enough to take the risks he has taken.
Bayern will need to examine its long-term plan at center-back. Grabbing Hernandez last year was probably unnecessary in the grand scheme of things --- especially for the €80M fee that came along with the transfer.
Will the Bavarians opt to try and move on from Alaba or Hernandez? Time will tell. But any decision made regarding those players will likely have a trickle down effect on players like Richards and Mai.
With one eye always on global marketing, Bayern Munich might be best-served to start fast-tracking Richards for a spot on the first-team...or he could end up making the move to England, where he'll likely get the opportunity to prove himself and show the world his talent.
If you have not read up on Richards and his incredible journey from Alabama to Bavaria, check out the series I wrote on him for BavarianFootballWorks.com. The link to the series is here.
