Ismael Saibari joined FC Bayern this summer. The attacking player came from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of around 50 million euros. And he was one of Vincent Kompany’s top targets.
This is nothing new. Kompany is said to have been very impressed by Saibari during Bayern’s Champions League match against PSV. At the time, the Moroccan scored for PSV, but Bayern still managed to win the game.
Saibari has since made his Bundesliga debut and immediately turned heads with two assists in his very first appearance. In Munich, they’re convinced that the attacking player will succeed and make a lasting impression.
Did Kompany give the tip about Saibari?
But back to the signing process. Things really heated up between Bayern and Saibari just before the World Cup, when Munich began intensively planning its roster. But the record champions had already had their eye on him earlier.
A report in *kicker* suggests that while Kompany did ensure the club took a closer look at the player, FC Bayern was already very well prepared.
Immediately after the match against PSG, Kompany is said to have approached Eberl and the rest of the staff and asked, “Hey, what do you guys think of him?” And FC Bayern was prepared—they already had the player on their radar and had been monitoring him, as Max Eberl, the sporting director at the time, confirmed to the coach.
Even in his first few appearances, Saibari hinted at what he can bring to FC Bayern—and that’s despite having to sit out for a while after the World Cup due to injury. The Moroccan is also feeling confident. “I’m getting fitter every day and feeling good,” he promises. “Now it’s up to the coach to decide whether to put me in the starting lineup.”
