Bayern Munich’s new No. 9 was introduced to the public just as his predecessor’s destination was revealed.
Polish national team star Robert Lewandowski completed his transfer to Bayern Munich from Borussia Dortmund with a Wednesday press conference where we learned that Mario Mandžukić is all-but-delivered to Atletico Madrid.Matthias #Sammer reveals: “There is a verbal agreement between FC Bayern, Atlético Madrid and Mario #Mandzukic.”
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) July 9, 2014
So Lewandowski replaces Mandžukić, Mandžukić replaces Costa, and Costa replaces more or less every striker at Chelsea.
Mandžukić missed the first game of Croatia’s World Cup with a suspension, but scored twice in a 4-0 beating of Cameroon. The 28-year-old completed two seasons at Bayern Munich, scoring 48 goals in 88 appearances across all competitions.
He’ll slide into Diego Simeone’s lineup for the departing Costa, 25, whose production went to the next level last season. The Spanish striker netted 36 times for Atletico, including eight goals in nine UEFA Champions League appearances.
Yet those two players may be the least significant of the three mentioned, as Lewandowski has dominated at Dortmund. The 25-year-old -- 26 next month -- has three straight 20-plus Bundesliga goal seasons, netting 16 goals over the last two UCL campaigns.
#Lewandowski will be hunting for goals for #FCBayern in the no. 9 shirt. Good luck, Robert! The press conf is over. pic.twitter.com/HxzR0T8HpN
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) July 9, 2014
The striker carousel should work out for all three parties, but what about Dortmund? They’ve added Italian breakout star Ciro Immobile to pair with Marco Reus, though Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is rumored to depart.