Yann Sommer discusses the details of his transfer to Bayern Munich

It is not very often that players in the Bundesliga stay with their clubs for long. The inevitable transfer out of Germany hits every player at some point in his career. Interestingly enough, there have been only 28 players in the league that have served for a club for eight years or longer, and Bayern Munich’s latest goalkeeping transfer was among them!

Yann Sommer, after 8.5 long years at Borussia Monchengladbach, sought out for a change when the Rekordmeister came to him, proposing a transfer. Bayern Munich’s ever-dependable man between the posts, Manuel Neuer, had a horrifying skiing accident which left him with a broken leg and the club needed someone with skill, experience and caliber to fill in. Sommer, with his experience and extraordinary performances against Bayern was a perfect candidate. Speaking on the details and delivering some behind-the-scenes coverage of his transfer, Sommer had nothing but praise for his former club Gladbach.

“The (time period before the transfer was) wild. But that’s the football business. We had very open talks with Gladbach, which I really appreciated. After 8 and a half years, that was important,” the Swiss international said, in an interview with Blick (as transcribed by @iMiaSanMia).

Certainly, being linked to Bayern means a lot of heads turning to you and a lot gets said. In these stressful times, Sommer sought peace and calm with his family. “At some point I withdrew from the whole thing. It was a lot, a lot was being written. I stayed calm and watched the whole thing with my family,” he revealed.

“It all happened very quickly on (18th January), my wife flew to Munich with me. After that I had long medical tests, completed a short final training session, signed the contract and played in Leipzig,” he said, explaining the series of events that transpired.

Family is very important for the 34-year-old. Their support was certainly crucial to the transfer, he explained. The new challenge in moving to Bayern, from his comfortable position at Gladbach was supported by his wife. “I’m lucky to have a wife who is very open to new things. But of course, we were thinking. I had a great situation in Gladbach. But moving to Bayern is now a new challenge in my career. I am glad that I can take on this challenge,” he enthused.

On the inevitable return of Manuel Neuer, Sommer expressed no worries. Going step-by-step and worrying about only what is ahead are his priorities.

Finally, when asked about his debut game against RB Leipzig, Sommer delivered his insight, saying the game was very intense, though it was obvious that both teams hadn’t played for two months. He then expressed his regret in not knowing the team optimally, and the team not knowing him well yet.

Sommer’s transfer was the need of the hour at Bavaria, for he is an experienced keeper who knows the league well. Given the level of anticipation and faith the fans have had in him, it is certain all eyes are on him to show up on the biggest stages of football and prove himself to be world-class.