Gnabry Returns: Saibari's Starting Role at Bayern in Jeopardy
The sight Bayern fans have been waiting months for is almost here: Serge Gnabry is back flying through drills on the training pitch – and the clock on Ismael Saibari’s starting role has started to tick.
The 31-year-old winger, sidelined since April with a stubborn adductor injury, has stepped up his comeback in recent days. After cautiously rejoining parts of team training last week, he has now completed full sessions with his Bayern team-mates and, by all accounts, looks sharp. Not just present. Lively.
On that basis, his return to the matchday squad no longer feels distant. According to Bild, Gnabry could already be included for Thursday’s Champions League opener against Bodö/Glimt at the Allianz Arena. A starting berth still seems premature, but the direction of travel is clear – and it leads straight towards the spot currently occupied by Saibari.
Saibari under the microscope
Saibari arrived in Munich last summer with expectation and a hefty price tag. Bayern paid PSV Eindhoven an alleged fee just shy of €55 million including bonuses, a statement signing for a player billed as versatile, creative, and ready to impact games quickly.
The early evidence has been mixed.
Kompany trusted him from the off: Saibari started the 4-1 DFB Cup win over VfL Osnabrück and the goalless Bundesliga draw away to promoted Schalke 04. In both matches, though, his evening ended early. He was substituted after roughly half an hour each time, a clear sign that the coaching staff were not getting what they needed in those specific game states.
His brightest spell remains his cameo on the opening Bundesliga weekend. Coming off the bench in the 5-1 win against VfB Stuttgart, Saibari delivered two goal involvements and looked like the dynamic link behind Harry Kane Bayern thought they had bought. Since then, the numbers have dried up. No direct goal contribution in the games that followed, and with that came the criticism.
Dietmar Hamann did not hold back. Speaking as a Sky expert, the former Bayern midfielder called Saibari a “wonderful footballer” technically, but then cut to the heart of his doubts: pace.
“He is too slow. He's not just not quick, he's like a poor Kane. Kane is not the quickest and now his back-up is not the quickest either,” Hamann said, questioning whether the Moroccan can really offer Bayern what they need across several attacking roles.
The club’s line is that Saibari can cover four positions across the front and midfield. Hamann flatly rejected that idea. In his view, there is only one natural role for the 23-year-old.
“They say Saibari can play four positions – I say he can play exactly one position: that is behind Kane, because out wide he is too slow,” he argued, before delivering the comparison that will sting most in Munich: in the No 10 role, he sees “Serge Gnabry a class better” than the newcomer.
If Kompany shares even part of that assessment, Saibari’s grip on the starting XI will loosen quickly once Gnabry is fully cleared.
Champions League opener, familiar referee
While the debate over Saibari and Gnabry gathers pace, Bayern’s season steps into its most serious arena again. On Thursday night, the German record champions begin their latest assault on the Champions League at home to Bodö/Glimt.
UEFA has handed the whistle to Rade Obrenovic, a referee Bayern know – and might quietly welcome.
The Slovenian has only overseen one Bayern match so far, but it was a significant one: last season’s 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, a result that booked Bayern’s place in the round of 16. That evening at the Allianz Arena was anything but uneventful for Obrenovic.
He awarded Bayern two penalties. Harry Kane converted one and missed the other. Later, Min-Jae Kim saw red for a second yellow card. Each major call stood up to scrutiny; all were considered justifiable decisions.
So Bayern go into Thursday with a referee they have handled before, a stadium that expects another deep European run, and a squad about to regain one of its most seasoned attackers.
If Gnabry proves as sharp in competition as he has in training, the question will not be whether he plays. It will be how long Saibari can hold him off.
