Literally, they have been pushed out of the competition.

Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany noted on the 23rd (Korea time) that "Kaoru Mitoma said he is open to a transfer to Bayern this summer," adding that "the club has already started discussions with Mitoma's side and has expressed specific interest," while stating that "Director General Max Eberl has yet to make an official offer." Mitoma is currently one of the wingers Bayern Munich is considering and is reportedly classified as a potential replacement for Kingsley Coman or Leroy Sané.

In fact, Bayern's interest in Mitoma is not a recent development. Toby Altshäf and Christian Falk of Bild revealed in their podcast that "Bayern Munich has been consistently watching Brighton's Mitoma." Since moving to Europe from Kawasaki Frontale in Japan's J-League, Mitoma has established himself as an ace at Brighton in the Premier League after a stint in Belgium.

Mitoma made a strong impression by scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists in his first season in the Premier League and is currently recording 10 goals and 3 assists in 35 league matches (28 starts) this season. This marks the first time a Japanese player has scored double-digit goals in the Premier League, achieving a record that previous players like Shinji Okazaki and Shinji Kagawa could not.

Mitoma has maintained consistent performance this season. According to the football statistics site FotMob, his average league rating is 7.11, the second highest on the team. His dribbling and space creation abilities are regarded as top-tier in the Premier League. Bayern Munich positively evaluates Mitoma's style, and there are discussions within Bayern about the potential release of current wingers, including Sané and Coman.

Bild reported that "Sané has rejected Bayern Munich's contract offer. Bayern Munich does not seem to intend to keep him, and he could be available in the transfer market." Sané has recorded 11 goals and 5 assists in 29 Bundesliga matches this season but has also received criticism for inconsistent performances throughout the season.

Along with Sané, Coman is also classified as a potential transfer candidate. Coman, who has been with Bayern since 2015, is known as a "master of winning," having experienced victory in leagues in France, Italy, and Germany each season, but has been criticized for his lower impact relative to expectations. While his dribbling and speed rank among the league's best, his shooting accuracy and decisiveness remain as ongoing challenges.

Bayern Munich is considering a rebuilding of its attacking lineup, and accordingly, Mitoma is viewed as a new puzzle piece. This necessity to pursue Mitoma more actively arises from the recent failure to secure the ace Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.

Originally, Bayern aimed to secure Wirtz unconditionally as a means to facilitate the sale of players, including Min-jae Kim. However, it has come to light that Wirtz prefers a move to Liverpool over Bayern. Additionally, Leverkusen also favors a foreign transfer, and since Liverpool is willing to offer a higher transfer fee, Bayern has found itself in the worst situation.

Ultimately, Bayern, which had been chasing its tail, has now pivoted to pursue Mitoma. Martin Plettenberg, a dedicated reporter known as Bayern's trumpet player, stated, "It is true that the club has shifted to pursuing Mitoma," explaining that "while no specific proposals have been exchanged yet, Wirtz prefers Liverpool over Bayern."

In a way, this could be seen simply as a failure to persuade a player, but it has a different significance from Bayern's perspective. It highlights that an ace with German nationality prefers a move to Liverpool rather than to them. In fact, it has been a point of pride that even if Bayern loses out to clubs like Real Madrid or FC Barcelona in the competition for top players, Germany's best players always played for Bayern.

However, that pride has now been broken. Indeed, Bayern, led by President Uli Hoeneß, had been trying to persuade Wirtz for over a decade. German media, including Bayern, had been confident in Wirtz's transfer, but the player himself strongly desired a move to Liverpool, placing the deal in jeopardy. Ultimately, having lost out on Wirtz and now having to desperately pursue the Japanese ace illustrates a decline in Bayern's status.

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