(Football news) At the end of last season, Bayern Munich confirmed that they would be losing two senior players on free transfers. The first senior player to leave was Niklas Sule who had rejected a contract renewal from Die Roten at the start of the year and soon announced that he would join Borussia Dortmund when he reached an agreement with him in February. Meanwhile, Corentin Tolisso also confirmed his departure from Bayern in May but he was expected to attract a lot of interest as he was linked with various clubs. However, the French midfielder will be returning to Ligue 1 with Lyon after spending five years in Bavaria.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Corentin Tolisso underwent a medical on Thursday to seal a move back to Lyon. Tolisso is expected to sign a five year contract at Lyon and is set to be unveiled as their new player today. Bayern Munich made Tolisso their record transfer in 2017 after buying him for €41.5 million. The French midfielder enjoyed a productive debut season, providing goals and assists from midfield. He rounded off a good debut season with a place in the French squad that won the World Cup 2018 in Russia.
Things started to go downhill for Tolisso at Bayern in the second season. After winning the World Cup with France, Tolisso suffered an ACL tear at the start of the 2018/19 campaign which subsequently ruled him out for more than eight months. The French midfielder then continued to struggle with various injuries in the next three years, which restricted him from getting a long run of games in the first team. Tolisso’s quality was never in doubt and he fared quite well whenever he played for Bayern in the playing XI. However, he was hardly available for selection due to his poor luck with injuries. It was reported that Bayern was considering a contract extension for him, but it was not a financially feasible solution for the club.
Eventually, Corentin Tolisso parted ways with Die Roten after he made around 118 appearances with the Bavarian Club, in a spell that was marred by injuries after an initially impressive first season. He went on to score 21 goals and win five Bundesliga titles and the Champions League in 2020. A move to Lyon will be beneficial for him to kickstart his career again. He will be entering the peak years of his career, so getting regular game time becomes very crucial for the French midfielder. With the World Cup in a few months away, Tolisso will be looking to start well with Lyon for a chance of being in the French squad. Since then, Bayern have replaced Tolisso with Ryan Gravenberch. The Dutch midfielder completed a move to Bayern Munich from Ajax earlier this month. Gravenberch will be fit for pre-season after recovering from a serious injury that he suffered in May.
