Bayern still searching for Kane backup after summer of transfer frustration

BERLIN (AP) — The German transfer window closed without an immediate confirmation that Bayern Munich succeeded in signing Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson on loan from Chelsea on Monday.

Bayern’s effort to sign Jackson — who'd add depth to an attack dependent on Harry Kane — was back on, according to Sky TV, which earlier reported late Sunday that the deal collapsed after an injury to Jackson's Chelsea teammate Liam Delap.

Deals can be agreed while the window is open but announced later.

The clubs seemingly already reached an agreement but Delap’s injury on Saturday put a halt to proceedings. Chelsea, which reportedly asked the player to return to London, would consider only a permanent switch but Bayern was insisting on a loan.

Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeness last month said the club should make only loan signings for the rest of the transfer window, avoiding any more big-money signings following the arrival of Luis Díaz from Liverpool.

This, despite the departures of Kingsley Coman, Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané.

It complicated efforts by Max Eberl, Bayern’s board member for sport, to reinforce the squad after a summer in which he failed to sign Germany players Nick Woltemade or Florian Wirtz from Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively.

Apart from Díaz, Bayern’s only other significant reinforcement in the transfer period was Jonathan Tah’s arrival on a free transfer from Leverkusen.

Media reports suggested Bayern switched attention to Atalanta's Ademola Lookman or Leipzig's Loïs Openda, though the latter was reportedly set for a move to Juventus.

All change at Leverkusen

It was a summer of upheaval for Leverkusen after seeing star coach Xabi Alonso return to Real Madrid.

Alonso's successor, the former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, was fired after just three games in charge on Monday, when there was no immediate word of a successor.

Wirtz moved to Liverpool rather than Bayern, and he was followed by other key players from the 2024 Bundesliga-winning team like Granit Xhaka, Jeremie Frimpong, Amine Adli and Tah. Piero Hincapie was expected to move to Arsenal.

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes moved to replace them with a host of promising young players including Morocco winger Eliesse Ben Seghir from Monaco, Loïc Badé from Sevilla, Malik Tillman from PSV Eindhoven and Ibrahim Maza from Hertha Berlin, while also signing the likes of Lucas Vázquez from Real Madrid for experience.

The signings continued on Monday with Argentine midfielder Ezequiel Fernández arriving from Saudi Arabia team Al-Qadsiah, while Nigeria forward Victor Boniface was sent to Werder Bremen on loan. Boniface won the Bundesliga with Leverkusen in 2023-24 but the club's statement on the loan suggested he was seen only as backup to Patrik Schick and the 19-year-old new arrival Christian Kofane.

Ten Hag was initially charged with leading the rebuild, but that plan quickly changed.

Stuttgart signings

After losing Woltemade to Newcastle, Enzo Millot to Saudi club Al-Ahli, and Germany forward Deniz Undav to injury, Stuttgart was reportedly working on signing South Korea forward Oh Hyeon-gyu from Genk.

Stuttgart on Monday announced Moroccan attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss was joining on loan from Leicester City, a day after it said Algerian attacking midfielder Badredine Bouanani was joining from Nice.

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AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed.

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