FC Bayern, news and rumours: Best free kicks at FCB? Michael Olise makes a surprising choice

Michael Olise was asked to put together his "perfect footballer" from his teammates at FC Bayern for the YouTube channel Post United, and one choice in particular came as quite a surprise.

In the "speed" category, Olise chose Alphonso Davies, who, at 36.53 km/h, is one of the fastest Bundesliga players in history (9th place in the all-time ranking). For "passing," the Frenchman chose Joshua Kimmich, for "best playing style" he chose Jamal Musiala, and for best finishing – of course – Harry Kane.

But when it came to free-kick takers, Olise provided a remarkable surprise. Olise did not name himself in this category, even though he regularly takes free kicks alongside Kimmich and Kane, but instead chose Tom Bischof.

The 20-year-old has not yet made a name for himself as a free kick expert at the German record champions, but he scored his first Bundesliga goal in a TSG Hoffenheim shirt from such a situation. In the Kraichgauers' spectacular 4-3 win over RB Leipzig in November 2024, Bischof curled a free kick from the right edge of the box with his left foot around the wall into the goalkeeper's corner, hitting the inside post and from there into the goal.

Olise, meanwhile, has already scored four direct free kicks for Bayern and his former club Crystal Palace, while Kane, like Kimmich, has scored one direct free kick for the record champions to date.

Despite the fierce competition, Bischof is already getting plenty of playing time in his first season at FC Bayern and has even been converted to a full-back by Vincent Kompany at times due to injuries to Alphonso Davies, Josip Stanisic and Konrad Laimer. To date, he has already made 29 competitive appearances, in which he has provided three assists (1,191 minutes).

In view of Davies' recent injury and the busy fixture list, Bischof is likely to continue to play an important role and rack up more minutes in the coming weeks.

He is a candidate to fill the squad place of the departing Leon Goretzka, but Noel Aseko, who is currently on loan at Hannover 96, does not necessarily want to plan for an early return to FC Bayern.

"I don't want to rule anything out," he told Bild when asked about the possibility of staying in Lower Saxony beyond the end of the season: "I want to keep all my options open. I can imagine playing another year in the 2. Bundesliga."

Aseko has matured into an undisputed regular at Hannover after six months of settling in during the current season. The loan began in February 2025 and runs until the end of the season. By then, the Lower Saxony club will most likely exercise their option to buy Aseko, which is said to be only one million euros. However, the record champions have a buy-back clause amounting to 2.4 million euros.

There is "regular contact" between Aseko and Bayern, as Aseko confirmed, and he also reported on a conversation with sporting director Christoph Freund: "He said that he is proud of my development and that I should continue exactly as I am."

Aseko is still fighting with Hannover for promotion to the Bundesliga and has been particularly impressive this season with his goal-scoring prowess. In 25 competitive games, he has already been directly involved in eight goals (5 assists, 3 goals). Aseko recently had to serve a yellow card suspension and promptly suffered a bitter 1-2 defeat against relegation candidates Greuther Fürth.

The shooting star already attracted interest from several well-known clubs in the winter. A Bundesliga club and Galatasaray are said to have made enquiries at the turn of the year, and according to the Abendzeitung newspaper, Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United and Villarreal CF have also expressed interest for the summer, alongside three other Bundesliga clubs. However, Bayern's management team, led by sporting director Max Eberl and Freund, have long since rejected all advances, andAseko's return to the German record champions is said to be a done deal.

Aseko now also plays an important role at national team level. The central midfielder has played in four of five European Championship qualifiers for the German U21s, starting three times. He has not yet been called up to the senior national team, but national coach Julian Nagelsmann should not wait too long after the World Cup. The Equatorial Guinea Football Federation has already asked Aseko if he would like to play for his parents' country.

"Anything is possible," said Aseko about a possible change of association, but he also emphasised how well he feels at home in the German junior national teams: "Wearing the German jersey is great. I've been playing for Germany since the U15s and every time it's like a class reunion and a lot of fun."

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