Last summer, FC Bayern bolstered its roster with players including Nathaniel Brown, Ismael Saibari, and Bara Ndiaye. However, the club failed to sign another player for the left wing. Luis Díaz would certainly have liked to see that exact reinforcement.
Especially after Arijon Ibrahimovic’s departure to FC Augsburg, there was much discussion about who would fill the left wing position. The 20-year-old joined FCA on loan on Deadline Day, with the club also securing a buyout option of eight million euros.
This leaves Díaz as the only dedicated left winger on Bayern’s roster. While coach Vincent Kompany can improvise with other players in that position, there is no classic alternative to the Colombian.
Díaz apparently wouldn’t have had a problem with that. Quite the contrary: the 29-year-old would have actually welcomed additional competition.
“Of course, I always want to play—I love playing. That’s normal. But if there’s someone who can help out in my position: Bring ’em on. It helps a lot when things aren’t going well—then your teammate is there to help you out, and that way you can take turns. That’s very important. I would have liked it, but well, it didn’t happen,” Díaz explained in an interview with Sky.
Díaz would have welcomed further reinforcements
These comments come at an interesting time. Díaz is currently struggling to recapture the outstanding form he showed last season. In six competitive matches this season, the winger has scored just one goal so far.
The Colombian has recently squandered several top-notch scoring opportunities. In the 2-1 win against Elversberg, his failed backheel attempt—with a clear shot on goal—was one of the talking points.
Additional competition would have given Kompany more opportunities to give Díaz a rest. The 29-year-old himself does not see another player in his position as a threat anyway. Rather, he emphasizes the advantage of being able to support each other and take turns.
However, the fact that Bayern did not sign another left winger does not mean that Kompany has absolutely no alternatives at that position. Several players on the roster can shift to the left side if needed.
Heavy workload as the reason for a difficult start
Meanwhile, Díaz isn’t worried about his current form. He attributes the mixed start to the season primarily to the enormous workload of the past few months.
“We’re not at that level yet, but I think that’s normal. Normal because we’ve had a heavy workload. We’ve played an incredible number of important games in recent months—knockout matches in the Champions League and the cup. Many of us also played in the World Cup afterward. That leaves you with relatively little time off. So it’s normal that the first few games can be tough.”
In his first Bundesliga season, Díaz needed hardly any time to find his footing and immediately became one of the record champions’ key players. Now the Colombian is working to get back to that level.
He would have gladly welcomed some additional competition for his position. However, Bayern decided against making another transfer this summer—and for now, Díaz has to make do without a traditional backup on the left wing.