The search for Neuer's replacement: Five candidates for Bayern
During Neuer's short absence earlier this season due to a shoulder injury, Bayern relied on experienced backup Sven Ulreich. But with the Bavarians looking to keep Bundesliga challengers well behind them while battling for the Champions League crown without Neuer for the entire rest of the campaign, they are looking at a longer-term replacement. Here are the five biggest candidates.
Alexander Nubel
Like Neuer, Nubel made his way to Bayern from Schalke. But that might be where the similarities end - while the former almost immediately took the number one spot after his arrival and started breaking records, the latter has made a singular Bundesliga appearance for the Bavarian giants and is now spending a second season on loan in Monaco.
While this move would seemingly be the easiest for Bayern - recalling a goalkeeper from a loan early rather than buying a new one - it's not as simple.
According to German newspaper TZ, Nubel is not a fan of Bayern's goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic to say the least. He views him as Neuer's confidant and wants to work with a coach he can trust. Furthermore, Nubel reportedly wants a fair battle for the starting spot when Neuer returns to fitness, while Neuer himself expects to come back to an unquestionable number one position even if he will be 37 already when he comes back.
All in all - talks between Bayern and Nubel are going on, but it seems unlikely he will return to Munich any time soon.
Dominik Livakovic
One of the goalkeepers who brought the spotlight to themselves at the World Cup in Qatar, Livakovic was one of the key parts of the Croatian team that ended up taking the bronze medals home. He saved three penalties in the Round of 16 shootout against Japan, then made 11 crucial saves in the quarter-final to knock out heavy favourites Brazil and all-in-all was a big candidate for the Golden Glove.
Livakovic has spent his entire career to date in his home country and has been the starter for Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb for the past seven seasons.
At 27 years of age (and after such a brilliant World Cup performance) it should be high time for him to move to a more prominent league. Dinamo would reportedly ask 10 million euros for him - quite a bargain in today's market for a goalie of his quality.
Emiliano Martinez
After the World Cup final, many talked about his provocative and wild celebrations more than his performances.
But let's not forget what Emiliano Martinez was celebrating with - a World Cup winner's medal and a Golden Glove trophy for the best goalkeeper of the tournament. And you don't get those just for trash-talking the opposition's penalty takers.
Martinez spent almost a decade fighting for a spot at Arsenal, where he waited through six loans to challenge Bernd Leno for the number one shirt. He didn't succeed, but got a much needed move to Aston Villa, where he is a clear starter and a star of the ambitious (if underperforming) team.
His performances for the Villans catapulted him to the Argentinian national team, where he went from debutante to World Cup winner in just a year. At 30 years of age, this might be one of his last chances to make the last big career leap to a truly big club. And it doesn't get much bigger than Bayern.
Bono
One more keeper who starred at the World Cup. Morocco made history at the tournament, making it further than any African nation before them, and stole the hearts of many football fans who always cheer for the underdog. In Qatar, they gained a reputation for being a defensive team, as up until the semi-finals with France, the only time they conceded was because of an own goal. Bono was a huge part of the rock-solid defence.
He was born in the Canadian city of Montreal to Moroccan parents, but spent most of his youth in Casablanca in the youth setup of the Moroccan club Wydad.
The professional career took him to Spain (despite nearly signing in Romania before that), where he played for Atletico's reserves, Zaragoza in the Segunda Division and then helped take Girona up to LaLiga before moving to Sevilla. There, he was supposed to be the understudy of Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, but took his place and has been a starter for the Andalusians for a third straight season.
He helped them to another Europa League title, made his way to LaLiga's team of the season and even scored a goal. After making history with Morocco at the World Cup, he surely wouldn't be opposed to the possibility of making a move to Munich. Especially since he was a Bayern fan growing up!
Yann Sommer
He isn't in as much spotlight as others in our list at the moment, but he would certainly be a logical, maybe downright obvious choice for Bayern. Sommer is a brilliant shot-stopper, a long-time number 1 choice for both Borussia Monchengladbach and the Swiss national team and offers a wealth of experience, turning 34 just a week before Christmas.
Despite proving his qualities consistently for over a decade, Sommer hasn't won a single trophy since leaving Basel for Gladbach and will likely look to change that before it's time to hang up the boots. According to many reports in Germany, Bayern are seriously considering Sommer, who wouldn't be a long term replacement for Neuer due to his age, but would bring a lot of quality for a reasonable price - Borussia would probably prefer to sell him now rather than letting him walk in the summer when he is out of contract. His possible free agent status is enticing for other big clubs too, though - Inter and Manchester United are reportedly both keen to bring him over on a free transfer.
