Bayern Munich Complete Winter Business By Adding $32.5 Million ...

Sacha Boey in action at the Allianz Arena. The French right-back faced Bayern Munich twice in the ... [+] Champions League this season and impressed. (Photo by Marcel Engelbrecht - firo sportphoto/Getty Images)

After lengthy negotiations with Süper Lig club Galatasaray, Bayern Munich has finally secured its much-needed re-enforcement in defense in the form of right-back Sacha Boey. According to a release by Galatasaray, the Turkish club will receive an initial €30 million ($32.5 million) plus €5 million ($5.4 million), 50% of any future transfer profit, and the arrangement also includes two friendly matches. According to Transfermarkt, Boey becomes the most expensive winter signing in Bayern’s history.

“This is a dream come true for me,” Boey said in a statement released by Bayern Munich on Sunday. “It’s an honor for me to get to play for such a big club like Bayern. I’m looking forward to my new team and playing with all these great players in the future. As a player, I’m a defender who likes to attack, just as happy being involved upfront as in defense.”

After selling Benjamin Pavard to Inter Milan and loaning out Josip Stanisic to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer without signing a replacement, bringing in a new right-back was a significant priority for Bayern this winter. In fact, a recent injury crisis that saw Dayot Upamecano and Konrad Laimer being added to the already out Noussair Mazraoui meant that Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund prioritized strengthening the backline.

Bayern already added Eric Dier from Tottenham earlier this winter and was also interested in signing Kieran Trippier from Newcastle. Bayern canceled negotiations with Newcastle after the Premier League rejected an initial offer of €15 million ($16.3 million). Already 33, Trippier was seen as a short-term solution, and Bayern was unwilling to pay more to a Newcastle side struggling to meet Financial Fair Play demands.

Sacha Boey in a duel with Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies. The Frenchman is seen as the ... [+] complimentary piece to the Canadian men's national team player, filling a void the club has been looking to fill for years. (Photo by MICHAELA REHLE/AFP via Getty Images)

Another option was Nordi Mukiele. But like Newcastle, Mukiele’s club, PSG, asked for a significant transfer fee. As a result, Bayern opted for an entirely different option, signing a younger right back in Boey. Far more expensive than Trippier and Mukiele, Boey is only 23 and is, therefore, seen as a long-term solution on right-back with the potential to finally have found a complementary piece for left-back Alphonso Davies.

"Sacha Boey is a very quick and physically strong right-back who covers a lot of ground in every game and doesn't shy away from any tackles,” Freund said in a statement released by Bayern Munich. “He was a fan favorite at Galatasaray, has developed very well down the years, arrived with Champions League experience, and won the league title with Galatasaray last season. He will increase our quality in defense."

The wing-back combines attacking prowess with strong defensive attributes perfectly. In fact, numbers from Wyscout underline Freund’s observation. Boey is third in the Süper Lig with 189 duels and ranks sixth among defensive players with 57.45% successful dribbles.

But will Boey be enough to fix all of Bayern’s problems? The emergence of Aleksandar Pavlovic as one of the most talented defensive midfielders in Germany has eased the burden for the club to sign an expensive no.6 this winter.

The club is also not expected to sign a replacement for the injured Kingsley Coman, and instead, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané, Thomas Müller, Mathys Tel, and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting are supposed to help fill the void. Is that going to be enough? Only time will tell.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth