Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has been promised a new striker for next season after president Herbert Hainer accepted the team lacks a ruthless goalscorer.
A 1-1 draw against Manchester City on Wednesday saw Bayern exit the Champions League 4-1 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage.
They are in danger of being left behind as the likes of big-spending City make a concerted effort to push for European dominance.
Although Bayern saw off another wealthy pretender to the Champions League crown in the previous round, by sinking the hopes of Paris Saint-Germain, there have been obvious shortcomings in the German giants' ranks this season.
This might be largely because they sold Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona last July and did not recruit a player of the same mould and calibre to replace the Polish striker.
Lewandowski hit 50 goals for Bayern last season, and although the team have not been goal-shy, they have been without a top-class predator.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has shown willing, netting 17 in 29 games in the central role, but with the best will he has been a stop-gap option.
"We're missing the goalscorer who can clean things up. That's what we'll definitely need in the future," said Hainer, quoted widely on Thursday in the German media.
Bayern's shot conversion rate has dipped slightly season on season, from 15.34 per cent last term to 15.02 per cent this time around.
Their 'big chance' conversion has tumbled from 43.54 per cent to 40.74 per cent, having been as high as 47.65 per cent in the 2020-21 campaign.
Last season saw Lewandowski put away 25.13 per of his chances, and 53.16 per of his big chances.
Hainer said it was "obvious" Bayern were not scoring often enough, but he indicated it would not be easy to find a player to make the difference.
Bayern have been linked with Tottenham's Harry Kane and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, but getting either man would involve a major financial outlay, and potentially a wrestle with other clubs.
"If you could name the one that hits the spot immediately, we would buy him immediately," Hainer said. "But you can assume that we will strengthen the team in such a way that we can again have a say in the Champions League title. Our goal is very clear to be at the forefront in Europe."
He said Bayern were "very, very well positioned" to be able to afford such a top-class player, as recently appointed coach Tuchel looks to put together a winning side.
Questions are being asked about the future of Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn, with reports in Germany claiming his position could be in some doubt.
If Kahn stays, he would likely have a key say in whom Bayern target as their next number nine.
The former Germany goalkeeper, quoted by Sport 1, said Bayern would have their work cut out to find a striker of Lewandowski's redoubtable prowess.
"It is also a question of price," Kahn said. "How many nines at the level of Robert Lewandowski are there in Europe? There aren't many. And if so, then it is in price regions that are extremely high."
Tuchel: Champions League semi-final defeat 'tough to accept'
Thomas Tuchel reflects on "tough to accept" defeat after Real Madrid came from behind to win 2-1 and knock Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
After a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semi-final at the Allianz Arena, Bayern took the lead in the 68th minute through Alphonso Davies.
However, Joselu came off the bench to score twice in three minutes to send the LaLiga champions to the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern.
"It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand, it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” Tuchel told DAZN after the game.
"Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.
"We started with a front four and by the end they were all off the pitch. And then Manu, who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years."
In stoppage time, Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the back of the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and Tuchel was frustrated with how the situation was handled.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel said: "We are almost through, it's almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player for the equaliser, then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.
"Then we scored one and there was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end. There was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch, and we were almost there. Now we say congratulations to Real Madrid.
"The linesman says sorry, but that does not help. To raise the flag in a moment like this... The referee sees we get the second ball, and we get the shot - it's a very, very bad decision. It's against the rules. It's a disaster. It's hard to swallow, but that's the way it is."
Manuel Neuer made five saves in the game and looked equal to Madrid’s threat until he spilled the ball in the build-up to Joselu’s first goal.
"Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now," he told DAZN.
"That we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 88th minute, it’s extremely bitter.
"We’d taken one step to London; we saw ourselves in the final, and now I’m lost for words."
Super-sub Joselu strikes again as comeback kings Madrid pounce
Joselu was the hero for Real Madrid as he scored twice off the bench to send them through to the Champions League final.
The Spaniard’s late brace secured Madrid’s comeback after Alphonso Davies had given the German side the lead, securing a 2-1 victory on the night, and a 4-3 win on aggregate to set up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
With only 10 minutes plus stoppage time to make an impact, Joselu made his time on the pitch count.
He scored with both his shots, becoming the oldest substitute to score a brace in a knockout game in the Champions League.
The forward is Madrid’s highest scorer in the competition this season with five goals, netting three of those after coming off the bench.
It is also the second time he has scored a double against a German team in the Champions League this campaign, getting his other against Union Berlin in the group stages.
Bayern were left to rue a late lapse in concentration that saw them concede twice in the space of two minutes and 44 seconds.
After Davies, who has been heavily linked with Los Blancos, became the first Canadian player to score in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with what was his maiden goal in the competition, it was a mistake that led to Madrid's equaliser.
It is the first time since April 2021 against Paris Saint-Germain that Manuel Neuer made an error leading to an opposition goal in the competition.
Bayern have now lost 11 Champions League matches against Madrid, the most one side has lost against another in the competition’s history.
It was always going to be a tough game for Thomas Tuchel’s side even after taking the lead – Madrid have won four matches despite conceding first in the Champions League this season, the most by a side in a single campaign since they won the trophy in 2016-17 (five).
Los Blancos have reached an 18th final in the European Cup/Champions League, but this is the first time they will play the showcase game at Wembley or in England altogether.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has reached his sixth Champions League final, two more than any other coach in the history of the competition.
'You can never be settled' – Bellingham dreaming of more after Champions League comeback
Real Madrid can "never be settled" as they hunt down a record-extending 15th European title, so says Jude Bellingham.
LaLiga champions Madrid claimed their place in the Champions League final thanks to Joselu's late double against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Joselu came on from the bench to score twice in the space of three minutes to seal a 2-1 victory on the night and a 4-3 win on aggregate.
Alphonso Davies' stunner had put Bayern on the brink, but Madrid will now face Borussia Dortmund – Bellingham's former club – at Wembley on June 1.
"They talk about how they won the 14th, how they want the 15th. You can never be settled," Bellingham told TNT Sports.
"The players feel like family, the fans feel like family.
"When I was seven years old in Birmingham, I was dreaming of nights like this."
Madrid have won four matches despite conceding the first goal in the Champions League this season, the most by a side in a single campaign since Los Blancos themselves in 2016-17 (five), when they went on to lift the trophy.
"There have been a lot of times we have looked dead and buried, but we have that mentality of never say die," Bellingham added.
"There is a reason we turn around so many games, it's because of these lot [the fans]. They give you an energy you can't get from anything else."
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