MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich is building for the future by snapping up goalkeeper Jonas Urbig from Cologne.
The Bavarian powerhouse announced the transfer late Monday, though it had been expected for some time.
The 21-year-old Urbig is considered one of Germany’s best young goalkeepers, and his move to Bayern suggests the club believes he could one day replace Manuel Neuer, who is still No. 1 but heading toward the end of his career at 38.
“We’re delighted that we’ve been able to complete another transfer with a view to the future,” Bayern sport director Christoph Freund said, referring to Bayern also signing German youth international Tom Bischof last week.
Freund said Urbig is “very ambitious and has huge potential,” calling him “a modern goalkeeper who fits in very well with Bayern’s style of play in terms of the way he interprets goalkeeping.”
That suggests Urbig will be expected to follow Neuer’s example of aggressive goalkeeping, emerging from his goal quickly to snuff out danger with clearances, limiting the occasions he’ll be called upon to make a save.
Neuer, who can be far from his goal with his team in possession, is sometimes caught out, but more often he gives the team security going forward and the opposition little time to recover from pressure.
Kicker magazine reported Bayern was paying up to 10 million euro including bonuses to Cologne for Urbig. He is expected to compete with the 36-year-old Sven Ulreich and injured Israeli goalkeeper Daniel Peretz for the No. 2 position behind Neuer.
Neuer, who will be 39 in March, has faced scrutiny already this season after he was sent off for the first time in a German Cup loss to Bayer Leverkusen.
On loan at Stuttgart, the 28-year-old Alexander Nübel is another potential successor for Neuer. Urbig’s signing means Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness can likely count on Nübel in goal again next season, too. Nübel extended his Bayern contract last year to 2029.
Urbig, who will compete with Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu to be Germany goalkeeper at the Under-21 European Championship in June, started this season in the second division for Cologne, but lost his place to Marvin Schwäbe after the first 10 league games of the season.
Bayern gave Urbig a contract through June 2029.
“I’m proud to be here now and look forward to getting to know my new team as quickly as possible. My goal is to work on myself professionally every day and to keep up my development in our goalkeeping group around Manuel Neuer,” Urbig told the club website.
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FILE - Bayern's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer stretches himself during warm up before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern and Paris Saint Germain, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
Cologne goalkeeper Jonas Urbig warms up ahead of the Bundesliga 2 soccer match between FC Koln and SV Elversberg, at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, Germany, Saturday Jan. 25, 2025. (Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
