Yannick Carrasco draws more interest from Bayern Munich

Maybe it’s because he ripped them apart in the Champions League, or maybe it’s because their pursuit of Arsenal’s Alexis Sánchez has stalled. But whatever the case, Bayern Munich have been linked again with a move for Atlético Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco.

Reports from France and Germany claim that the German champions - disillusioned by Alexis’ alleged €25 million per year wage demands - have started to focus on Carrasco. The 23-year-old is said to be a favorite of coach Carlo Ancelotti, and Bayern are willing to fork over €50 million to sign the Belgium international.

Bayern, along with Arsenal and Barcelona last summer, reportedly have registered an interest in Carrasco in the past. It makes sense; he followed up a promising debut campaign in Spain by scoring 14 times in all competitions during 2016-17. (Not to mention he has great hair.)

But Bayern will run into problems if Ancelotti really wants the explosive winger in his team. First, the player signed a new contract to 2022 in October, and his buyout clause is set at €100 million. Second, Atlético are, of course, under transfer ban. As it has been reported elsewhere and written here on the site, Diego Simeone will not sanction any departures of players he considers crucial to the team’s success while the ban is in place. Carrasco - despite his occasional blowups with Simeone and the coaching staff - is such a player.

Atlético have maintained that no negotiations will take place if a team wishes to buy a Carrasco, an Antoine Griezmann or a Jan Oblak: the buyout clause must be met. The club is even more inclined to stick to its guns while unable to replace players of that caliber. This makes it likely that Bayern’s admiring glances will remain just that, at least for now.