The next Bayern departure is official. A talented center back is leaving the record champions to take the next step in his career in Italy.
FC Bayern has made its next personnel decision. While club officials continue to work on strengthening the first team, a departure from the youth ranks has now been finalized.
As transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports, Ljubo Puljic is moving to Atalanta Bergamo. The Italian first-division club has signed the Croatian center back from FC Bayern II. The transfer has already been fully completed.
According to the report, Puljic has signed a four-year contract with the northern Italian club. Romano also confirmed that the Croatian U19 national team player has already arrived at his new club. The transfer was finalized on Friday together with his advisors.
This confirms what had already been hinted at in recent days. It had previously been reported that Atalanta was showing great interest in the defensive talent and that both sides were close to reaching an agreement.
For FC Bayern, the transfer means the loss of yet another promising youth academy player. Puljic was regarded within the club as a talented center back with great potential for development.
The leap to the pros never materialized
The 19-year-old moved to Munich in the summer of 2023 for around 2.8 million euros and was considered one of the most exciting defensive talents of his age group at the time. After stints with the U17 and U19 teams, the left-footed player most recently established himself with FC Bayern’s second team.
In the past Regionalliga season, Puljic made 15 appearances for Bayern’s amateurs and gained valuable playing experience at the senior level. His physical presence, strength in one-on-one situations, and ability to build play were regularly highlighted.
However, he did not make the decisive step up to the professional squad. Competition for spots in central defense at FC Bayern has been fierce for years. With players like Jonathan Tah, Dayot Upamecano, Minjae Kim, and Hiroki Ito, opportunities for young defenders are limited.
A new opportunity is now opening up for Puljic in Bergamo. Atalanta enjoys an excellent reputation across Europe for developing young players and has successfully introduced talent to professional soccer time and again in recent years.
The Croatian is now taking this path to take the next step in his career. For FC Bayern, this marks the end of a collaboration with yet another talented young player after just under three years.