Why Up Front Is the Area Bayern Munich Should Look to Strengthen in January

Bayern Munich may be sitting comfortably at the moment as they enjoy their winter break atop of the Bundesliga table, yet the arrival of the January transfer window has brought with it the added impetus to bulk up their squad for the second half of the season. 

Pep Guardiola, the perfectionist we all know too well, will undoubtedly be scouting the market for his next big signing in Munich before the window shuts later this month.

Yet there is one notable area in his squad that desperately needs reinforced: his strike force. 

What we should consider before all else, of course, is the simple fact that Bayern already have a truly outstanding forward in their ranks in the shape of Robert Lewandowski. 

Arriving from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Lewandowski has hit the ground running in Munich with little cause for concern. Even the best players often need time to adapt to new surroundings, yet it would seem as though this striker has fitted into his new surroundings with relative ease.

The Polish international has amassed a total of 10 goals already this season and seven assists, according to Transfermarkt, and stands tall in his new Bayern colours as undoubtedly one of the best players in European football today. 

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

However, what would happen to Guardiola's squad should this attacking power briefly diminish overnight? Where would Bayern turn if they no longer had their star striker?

Here we find a chink in the Bavarian armour and a possible area worth investing in over the January transfer window. 

This scenario has all come about through the sale of Mario Mandzukic last summer to Atletico Madrid. The Croatian had done a fine job during his time in Munich, but Guardiola wanted something a little different and opted for a slightly better model of striker. 

Unfortunately, Mandzukic was just too good to consider sitting on the bench and was duly sold to add cash to the already bulging transfer budget at Guardiola's disposal, as well as removing a potential dressing-room disturbance six months in advance.

There was no way Bayern could accommodate Mandzukic and Lewandowski over the course of the season, so one was duly sold.

Yet this in turn led to Bayern keeping things simple and opting to stick with what they had. Rather than considering Lewandowski as a direct replacement for the striker they once had, the Bavarian club looked to the Polish forward as their overall solution and thought little about the burden of genuine cover. 

Should Lewandowski pick up a serious injury—which seems highly unlikely, considering he only ever missed four games through injury during his entire time at Dortmund—Bayern would then have to turn to Claudio Pizarro. A club legend but, at 36 years of age, far from the ideal candidate to lead Guardiola's line. 

In defence of the Peruvian striker, he does still have all the skill, temperament and intelligence to do a job for Bayern.

Last season, through his limited appearances throughout the season, Pizarro managed to notch up 11 goals and four assists, according to Transfermarkt, but little is known of the striker's longevity over the course of a campaign. 

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Pizarro is the kind of striker who does exactly what it says on the tin; he comes on for eight minutes, slots straight into the side and often gets a goal in a timely and efficient manner.

However, asking such a player to play 90 minutes two or three times a week while Lewandowski mends on the sideline seems like an all-but-impossible task. Especially for a club with aspirations like Bayern. 

Guardiola would then be forced to turn his attention to Thomas Muller, the Bayern golden boy and second striker/false No. 9 extraordinaire. Yet that too would offer little salvation for the Bavarian attack. 

Little needs to be said about the German international's goalscoring record for club and country, but you would find very few Bayern fans who don't let out a notable groan every time Guardiola, or indeed German manager Joachim Low, resorts to throwing Muller up front as the lone striker. 

Yes, the lanky forward has an outstanding eye for goal, but that talent seems to dry up when he's asked to hold the line and poach in the six-yard box. Muller needs to have the freedom to dart in from the right, pull back to the edge of the box or indeed make a late run towards the back post.

He can't do that when he's holding up the ball or playing off the shoulder of the last defender, which is exactly why he'll never be Bayern's first-choice out-and-out forward. 

Even when we compare Bayern's luxurious squad to other European giants, it becomes abundantly clear that they lack depth when it comes to the strength of other sides.

Chelsea, for example, have Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba; Real Madrid have Karim Benzema, Javier Hernandez and even Cristiano Ronaldo; PSG have Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Whichever way you look at it, Bayern need another striker in January or they may well find themselves regretting it come May. 

@Sbienkowski