Anthony Gordon would not get in this Bayern Munich team, declared Alan Shearer last week. He could have said the same of every winger in England. Michael Olise and Luis Diaz are proof that life beyond the Premier League, especially in Bavaria, will enhance reputation and performance.
It is little wonder Harry Kane, who completes Bayern’s devastating front three, has already scored more than in any of his previous 14 senior seasons. The 54-goal striker makes Olise and Diaz better too, of course. They have 101 goals between them this campaign, including one apiece during last Tuesday’s 5-4 defeat by Paris-Saint Germain. Kane and Olise are currently the market leaders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.
So, the prospect of ‘not getting in the team’, as Shearer claimed during the Champions League semi-final first leg in Paris, would not deter Gordon, and nor should it. Any player of ambition will be enticed, not intimated. Daily Mail Sport can reveal that contact has now been made between Bayern and Newcastle, albeit at an exploratory stage. We understand Newcastle are also aware of what would appeal to Gordon this summer, and you can be sure that includes Bayern.
To be at their training base here in Munich on Tuesday, where the rondos were as fast as the autobahns nearby, was to appreciate the lure – Vincent Kompany’s team have the most exciting carousel of attacking talent in world football right now, and perhaps only PSG, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue, can rival them.
The front six players who will be on show at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night are more daring and incisive than anything in the Premier League, where the strength of depth has become an offensive constraint. In the domestic leagues of Germany and France, the top teams attack every week, they do not have to chisel marginal gains from the rock face that is set-pieces. The muscle memory is to flex them in front of the opposition goal.
That is why we enjoyed and marvelled at the nine-goal riot of the Parc des Princes, where earlier this season Gordon himself made an admission that has proven prophetic, given his preference, if leaving Newcastle, is thought to be a move abroad.
Contact has been made between Bayern and Newcastle about Anthony Gordon – albeit at an exploratory stage
‘The Premier League has become more physical than I’ve ever known it to be,’ he said. ‘In the Champions League it’s more football based, teams try to play proper football. In the Premier League, you have seen longer throw-ins – it has become slower and a lot more set-piece based.’
All of the above should serve as a warning for those associated with the Premier League. The last season involving Olise, Diaz and Gordon, in 2023/24, saw the latter outscore the two men now in Munich. Gordon’s numbers, domestically at least, have since regressed, while he has thrived in the Champions League. In April of that same season, it is interesting to note, Diaz and Olise were both hooked before the 68th minute the last time they shared a pitch in opposition, when Crystal Palace won 1-0 at Liverpool.
Two years on and, as the tone of Shearer’s light-hearted indignation suggested, the Bayern wingers are streets ahead of the one who remains in the Premier League. The defection of Kane, Olise and Diaz has bettered them all. On Wednesday, they play in the match that will captivate a continent, and they are the headline act.
‘It’s amazing to train every day with those guys, that quality,’ said defender Jonathan Tah after Tuesday’s session had finished. ‘They challenge you every day. I prefer to watch them kill another defender, but it helps me in training when they try to kill me.’
Kompany was then asked how does a coach contain the threat of Kvaratskhelia, Dembele and Doue, but he shot back: ‘I thought you would say how do you solve it against Kane, Diaz, Olise and Musiala!’
Michael Olise and Luis Diaz are proof that life beyond the Premier League will enhance reputation
Olise revealed in January that his passion away from football is chess, yet there is nothing slow or methodical about him and Bayern. They move forward with the speed and directness of a checkers champion, and that approach will not change for this second leg.
‘It’s still about making sure you score one more goal than the opponent,’ said Kompany, when pressed for a game-plan. ‘To do it without conceding, that’s the best, to win 4-0! But…’
The Bayern boss then tore up the traditional notion of pragmatism. ‘It is pragmatic to win a match, however you do it.’
It might not be easy to get in this Bayern team, but it sure would be hard to resist giving it a go.
