Daily Schmankerl: FC Barcelona might not be able to afford Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt; Bayer Leverkusen confident it can keep Xabi Alonso; Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United want Joshua Kimmich; Radu Drăgușin not regretting move; and MORE!
Bayern Munich center-back Matthijs de Ligt could be on the move this summer after becoming an afterthought under head coach Thomas Tuchel.
While Tuchel is definitely leaving his post after the season, the damage done on De Ligt’s relationship with the club might be irreparable. If so, FC Barcelona would love to have him, but it might not be able to afford him:
According to Jijantes FC (h/t Fichajes), Barcelona’s sporting director, Deco, met with the agents of the player in Barcelona, who also happen to represent Man City’s Erling Haaland.
It isn’t clear at this stage if the Dutchman would welcome a move to Barcelona over United and whether the Spanish league club would be able to afford him given their Financial Fair Play constraints, however, it does appear that initial talks may have taken place to explore the possibilities.
De Ligt was — arguably — Bayern Munich’s best and most valuable player during the 2022/23 campaign. It would be a shame to see him leave Bavaria so soon, but football is finicky like that sometimes.
Hopefully, there will be a way for the Bavarians to salvage the relationship.
Bayern Munich is considered to be the leader for Fulham FC defensive midfielder João Palhinha, but Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, and Liverpool FC are also said to be firmly in the mix:
Liverpool are interested in signing Joao Palhinha from Fulham, but will face competition for his signature from Arsenal, Chelsea and Bayern Munich.
The news cycle surrounding Bayern Munich is wild at the moment.
Coaches coming in…players going out…other players coming in? There are no shortage of topics to discuss, so let’s get to it. This is what we have on tap for this week’s episode:
- Like many of us have expected, Alphonso Davies seems set for Real Madrid. Is Andy Robertson the answer for a replacement?
- Max Eberl’s hiring at Bayern Munich has gone official…now what?
- Bayern Munich and Liverpool FC appear headed for a showdown on Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso.
- Why is there so much hate toward Hansi Flick these days?
- Breaking down the recent reports that Julian Nagelsmann has identified his team leaders and which players might get left home. This sounds like history repeating itself in some ways…let’s discuss.
- Some quick thoughts on the most recent episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
On Wednesday, we saw the news break that Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso would be open to a move to Bayern Munich this summer.
The Bavarians are not the only club actively pursuing Alonso, though:
TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal that Liverpool have offered Xabi Alonso a three-year contract as they aim to beat Bayern Munich to the manager’s signature. Bayern Munich have been extremely impressed with Alonso’s managerial skills displayed at Leverkusen and with Thomas Tuchel set to leave at the end of the season, they have also made him a top managerial target.
However, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal that Alonso’s preference is to join Liverpool over the reigning German champions. Liverpool have offered Alonso a three-year contract. If an agreement is reached, any official announcement will be delayed until Klopp has left Anfield.
The coach likes the idea of managing a top Premier League side like Liverpool. He also doesn’t see Bayern Munich as much of a step forward given he is already in a position to dominate the Bundesliga with Leverkusen.
Alonso already has some plans for Liverpool in terms of transfers, too, and would look to bring Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and right-back Jeremie Frimpong with him to Anfield.
Nothing is done until Alonso signs on the dotted line, however, and Bayern will keep doing everything they can to convince Alonso to join them over the Reds.
However, Bayer Leverkusen executive Simon Rolfes remains confident that the club can keep Alonso, despite the recent surge of rumors.
“I’m still calm and optimistic. The most important thing for coaches is that they feel comfortable and have the feeling that they are in the right place. Xabi has said that many times. That’s how he works with his team and his coaching staff every day,” Rolfes told FrankfurterRundschau (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “There are many subjunctives in the world. Not all of them have to happen.”
Liverpool FC, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur all have interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich:
Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur have received a major boost in their pursuit of Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich.
According to a report by HITC, Joshua Kimmich wants to play in the Premier League amidst interest in his services from Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Liverpool. The 29-year-old Bayern Munich star has a long-standing desire to play in England and could push for a move in the summer.
Apart from the difficulties he is facing, Kimmich has always been keen on playing in England, where many bigwigs are keen. The German sensation, who can feature both as a right-back and defensive midfielder, wanted to move to the Premier League before the start of the 2023/24 season.
While Bayern managed to keep hold of him back then, it won’t be easy this time around with his contract running out in 2025. However, the Bundesliga champions hope that once they decide on who the next boss will be, he might be able to change the player’s mind about his future.
With Kimmich interested in moving to the Premier League, Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester United have received a major boost. All three clubs have been closely monitoring him for a while now, and they would love to have him in their ranks.
Bayern Munich got a win under its belt last week against RB Leipzig, but now the focus turns to a Friday match-up at SC Freiburg.
The short week on the road against an opponent who has shown a knack for frustrating Bayern Munich at times could be a big ask for the Bavarians, but there is no room for error.
If Bayern Munich wants to retain any sliver of hope for winning the league, it cannot afford to slip up. Here is what we have on tap for this episode:
- A look at where each team stands in the table.
- Some thoughts on the recent form of each team.
- A look at the recent developments at Bayern Munich.
- A guess at Thomas Tuchel’s lineup.
- A prediction on the match.
Just a few weeks ago, Bayern Munich had serious interest in defender Radu Drăgușin. However, the Romanian ultimately opted for a future with Tottenham Hotspur over one with the Bavarians.
Drăgușin, though, has only played eight total minutes in three games for Tottenham since moving to England. Despite that lack of playing time, the 22-year-old is said to be happy about his transfer:
Radu Dragusin’s agent Florin Manea spoke last week about the situation which he described as ‘normal’ and as ‘nothing to worry about’. He is hoping that the 22-year-old will start getting minutes following Tottenham’s recent loss against Gary O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Athletic journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke when speaking to A View From The Lane said that according to his belief, Dragusin is ‘pretty relaxed’ about the current situation in the capital. He added that the Romanian centre-back understands that he is new to England and the Premier League while Spurs don’t have any games in other domestic competitions.
“Dragusin was a fantastic player in Italy and I gather he’s pretty relaxed about the situation. “He knows that Tottenham don’t have a lot of games this season to allow opportunities for different players, he’s coming into a new league, the two centre backs are currently vey well-established and playing well and fit and not suspended, but as soon as any of those things ceases to be the case, Dragusin will come straight in and play,” said Pitt-Brooke.
Kalvin Phillips has not had the easiest time since leaving Leeds United. If promoted after this season, however, Phillips could be a transfer target for his old club:
Leeds United would be keen to reunite with current Irons loanee Kalvin Phillips if they secure a return back to the Premier League.
Bayern Munich got back on the winning track with a big victory over RB Leipzig, but — as always — there is plenty more going on at the club to talk about.
Why waste any more time? Let’s get down to it! Here is what is on tap for this week’s episode:
- Some exciting news about the future of Bavarian Podcast Works.
- Some final thoughts on the weekend win over RB Leipzig — and how fans are (rightly) struggling with whether to be optimistic or realistic about where all this is going.
- The arrival of Max Eberl should propel Bayern Munich into its next generation — but could end up leaving some players and club staffers behind.
- What should we make of Leroy Sané’s current struggles — and should Bayern Munich have reservations about re-upping his deal.
According to at least one report, Liverpool star Mo Salah has already inked a deal to move to Saudi Arabia after the season:
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has already signed a contract to play in Saudi Arabia next season.
FC Barcelona is reportedly thinking of bringing in David de Gea:
Barcelona are weighing up whether to offer a contract to free agent goalkeeper David de Gea, according to a report.
The 33-year-old remains without a club – his last competitive appearance came in United’s 2-1 loss to rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final last June in which he received criticism for both goals conceded. But Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo report he could soon make a return to football with Barcelona.
La Blaugrana remain financially hamstrung – they spent only €3.4m in transfer fees last summer, while their winter outlay of €40m was spent entirely on Brazilian forward Vitor Roque – and they view the free signing of De Gea as a cost-effective solution to strengthening in the goalkeeper department.
Current starting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in recent weeks, while backup Inaki Pena has impressed during his outings this season and could be subject to transfer interest himself. At this stage, it is more likely that De Gea would serve as understudy to Ter Stegen with Barcelona reluctant to sell the Germany international.
Earlier this season, Bayern Munich was kicking around the idea of bringing in De Gea before it added Daniel Peretz.
