1 Player Bayern Munich Will Regret Not Signing in 2015 Summer Transfer Window

On balance, Bayern Munich's 2015 summer transfer campaign was a resounding success. Although the club sold a legend in Bastian Schweinsteiger, they brought in pure class in Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa, as well as some up-and-coming stars in Joshua Kimmich and Kingsley Coman.

The squad has class and depth in nearly every position, and on paper, they should be among the leading contenders for the Champions League trophy.

If there is one area where the Bavarians are a bit short, though, it's center-back. And indeed, Bayern may well come to regret not landing an interior defender during the transfer window. Aymeric Laporte may come to be remembered as the one that got away.

The Athletic Bilbao star was linked with a move to Munich by Bild (h/t Daily Mail) in 2014, and he remained a target this summer: Kicker (h/t SoccerNews) recently reported that with Dante nearing an exit, Bayern were again considering a move for Laporte.

It appears the main problem for Bayern was the French defender would cost a whopping €50 million, the value of his buyout clause after signing a contract extension with Bilbao in June. His previous buyout clause was, per Inside Spanish Football, a still-substantial but considerably less €42 million.

In the end, Bayern declined to move for Laporte but still allowed Dante to leave for Wolfsburg. That left the German giants' list of natural center-backs at just three: Jerome Boateng, Mehdi Benatia and Holger Badstuber. And the list of three should include an asterisk given the latter has hardly played football for three years now, repeatedly sustaining long-term injuries each time he attempts to return.

Bayern were made well aware of their lack of depth at center-back last time out, when a suspension for Boateng and an injury to Benatia (who joined long-term absentee Badstuber in the stands) required them to line up without a natural center-back. Xabi Alonso was forced to play in defense for the first time in his long career, partnering David Alaba in the middle of the back line.

The Alonso-Alaba combination worked brilliantly against Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kiessling, and the two certainly benefited from the presence of a strong defensive midfield that screened the opposition and left the makeshift center-back pairing with little to do in terms of critical, game-changing defending.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Had Bayern faced a critical Champions League clash against one of Europe's elite attacks, however, the combination of defenders they fielded against Leverkusen surely would have been exposed. Even in the absence of a great striker, a side that could win set pieces would have a huge size advantage in the penalty box against the diminutive team Bayern used against Leverkusen.

Set pieces ended Bayern's Champions League campaign two seasons ago, whereas last year the high defensive line and man-marking tactics employed against Barcelona's lethal triumvirate of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar cost them. Imagine putting Alonso and Alaba into those situations; the result would be devastating.

Accordingly, Bayern may eventually come to regret not moving for Laporte; it all depends on whether Benatia and Boateng can remain match fit and avoid suspensions for much of the season—at least the critical games. It may be true that the €50 million price tag on the Frenchman's head was extremely high, especially after Bayern shelled out nearly €70 million for Costa and Vidal. And in fairness, the Bavarians probably would have had to have acted before Laporte extended his Bilbao contract in June.

To land Laporte early would have required a bit more foresight, and Bayern were occupied by other pressing matters, such as the saga involving Schweinsteiger's sale and search for his eventual replacement, as well as finding a long-term solution to replace Franck Ribery.

Still, especially as the season progresses, Bayern may come to regret not moving for him. The Frenchman has a ton of potential waiting to be tapped and could have been a very useful addition to the squad.

@Mr_Bundesliga