Daily Schmankerl: Will João Palhinha’s potential arrival mean the end of the road for Joshua Kimmich at Bayern Munich?; FC Barcelona eyeing Florian Wirtz; Will Harry Kane move back to Tottenham Hotspur?; Jack Grealish’s new look is...something; and MORE!

01/07/2024

Palhinha’s arrival could mean end of Kimmich’s tenure with Bayern (Barca Universal)

If Bayern Munich is successful in its attempt to bring in Fulham FC defensive midfielder João Palhinha, it could spell the end of the line for Germany international Joshua Kimmich at the club:

With the start of the summer transfer window just around the corner, the future of Joshua Kimmich appears to be more and more away from Bayern Munich. The midfielder’s contract at Allianz Arena expires in 2025 and everything suggests he will leave the club in the summer. Barcelona are among the clubs in contention to sign Kimmich, even though signing the German international could cost a fortune.

As uncertainty over Kimmich’s future at Bayern continues, Sky Sports Florian Plettenberg has offered an important update. As per Plettenberg (h/t SPORT), Bayern Munich are on the verge of securing the services of Joao Palhinha, who is widely regarded as the replacement for Kimmich.

Bayern Munich are in advanced talks with Fulham surrounding the transfer of the Portuguese international. The player, for his part, has a total agreement with Bayern over personal terms. Everything suggests Palhinha will join Bayern Munich this summer, with the midfielder likely to sign a contract until 2028.

Bayern Munich’s capture of Joao Palhinha will confirm the departure of Joshua Kimmich, which is a major boost for Barcelona. However, there are far too many obstacles for the Catalans in their bid to sign the German international.

For one, Bayern are paying a fortune for Palhinha and are more than likely to offload Kimmich for a high amount, as they look to recoup the investment. Recent reports indicate a fee of around €30-40 million. But, Kimmich is likely to command a higher salary package, which might not be sustainable for Barcelona. However, these are still early days and it will be interesting to see how Barça utilise their economic levers, as they look to bring in fresh funds that can enable the club to sign new players.

Kane back to Spurs? (To the Lane and Back)

Could Harry Kane be contemplating a move back to Tottenham? It seems really doubtful, but one ex-scout thinks it should happen. Let’s humor him and find out why:

Tottenham Hotspur ex-scout Bryan King suggests the club to re-sign Spurs’ all-time top scorer Harry Kane from German club Bayern Munich. The English ace left the north London club last summer after his 14-year voyage with the club.

The most heartbreaking thing that happened to the Spurs in a long time will be Harry Kane’s departure from N17. When 16-year-old Kane first joined Tottenham in 2009, he could never have imagined the success that he had in the white jersey. The English striker was a backbone for the club until his last Premier League season.

Kane was a permanent starter for the club from the 2013/14 season. From that same season, the striker started to enter his name into Premier League record books. He was named the ‘PFA Young Player of the Year’ in the following season. Kane was one of the best goal-hunters Premier League ever had, The Englishmen netted 280 goals in 435 appearances for Spurs and became Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing the legendary Jimmy Greaves’ record of 266 goals for the club.

All of his personal accolades were won during his spell with the Lillywhites. But despite making it to the 2019 Champions League final, the striker failed to bring a trophy to the N17.

The trophy drought at the North London club would have driven him to join the German club Bayer Munich last season. The situation was not different for the striker in Germany as Bayern failed to win the Bundesliga title after they finished third in the league. But Kane didn’t fail to shine for the club as he was the top scorer for Bayern in the recently concluded season with 44 goals also winning the European Golden Shoe.

King suggested that Spurs should try to get him back for the next season, and the ex-scout expects the striker can win silverware under the new Australian gaffer.

“He (Kane) has about three or four years left in him at the highest level. That would be the deal that would lift the whole football club.”

Bryan King responded on Tottenham Hotspur News. Spurs strikers, Richarlison and Werner, struggled during the last season to find goals for the club and Ange needs a striker to fill the hole in the squad.

Convincing the former player will not be a big issue for Daniel Levy, as Kane holds a special emotional bond with Spurs and their fans, and his dream to win a trophy is still not fulfilled. Bayern might not be interested in a move as he has three more years (Transfermarkt) with the club and the German giants are revamping under new gaffer Vincent Kompany.

Barca could be lining up pursuit of Wirtz (Barca Universal)

FC Barcelona could be plotting for a big long-term acquisition of Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz:

While Barcelona’s financial situation does not provide them with any room to dream of big signings, the Catalans continue to keep their eyes on some of Europe’s elite should an opportune moment arise in the coming years. One such player who the Blaugrana dream of recruiting is Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen’s 21-year-old sensation.

The youngster has been widely tipped to make a move away from Xabi Alonso’s side, but he has made it clear that he will make no such move this time around. The summer of 2025, thus, is seen as a big window. As revealed in a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will look to push for the youngster’s signing in 2025 should their economic situation reach a state of stability by then.

Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Ilkay Gundogan, in such a situation, will serve as the catalysts given their proximity to the German sensation. Notably, however, the Catalans will be joined by some of Europe’s other giants in the race to sign Wirtz including Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, setting up for a fascinating showdown. The Merengues, after all, hope to utilise their Champions League history and the stories of Toni Kroos and Antonio Rudiger to incentivise a move.

Bayern Munich, meanwhile, have been working on the operation for a long time now and will continue their slow developments behind the scenes to prepare for a monster bid next summer. Although the Catalans may have a lot to work on a financial level, the one factor that does play in their favour is the player’s stance.

While interest from the Bavarians and Madrid is likely to tempt Wirtz, one must remember that it has been his dream for a long time now to don the Catalan colours. “As a child, I dreamed of playing for Barça and that hasn’t changed. I had posters hanging in my room; of Leo, Dembélé, Aubameyang,” he said back in 2022.

With a chance to sign for his dream club opening up next year, it remains to be seen if he indeed follows his heart.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show: Germany 2-0 Denmark (Bavarian Football Works)

Former Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann is pushing all of the right buttons for Germany at the moment (well, almost all of them).

The German national team used a relentless attack and some endless energy to wear down Denmark 2-0 and claim a spot in the in EURO 2024 quarterfinals. It might not always have been pretty, but it was always exciting. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:

A look at Julian Nagelsmann’s starting XI and what the big changes were.
A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
A look at Germany’s early dominance and why it still probably left fans feeling a little uneasy.
Why the weather delay really could have gone sideways for the Germans.
Respect for the Danes, who really did battle like hell.
Thoughts on Germany’s overall performance and why — despite some really frustrating moments — this was a landmark performance for the squad under Nagelsmann.

Barca bidding farewell to a couple of Joãos...at least for now (@FabrizioRomano)

FC Barcelona is saying goodbye to João Cancelo and João Félix for now. While it is possible that one or both players could return to Catalonia, the duo will be headed back to their parent clubs (Atlético Madrid and Manchester City respectively) for the moment:

Romano added more context on the matter in a follow-up post on X as well:

More info on Mamardashvili (@FabrizioRomano)

Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to leave Valencia soon enough and his performances at the EURO 2024 competition have only heightened his value:

Romano also recounted Mamardashvili’s close call with Bayern Munich just a year ago:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 50 (Bavarian Football Works)

In the middle of the offseason, things should be slowing down, but for Bayern Munich and German national team fans, it has been, well, pretty darn wild.

The Bavarians are in the middle of what figures to be a crazy transfer period, while Germany has already looked better in a tourney than it has at any point since that last run under Joachim Löw at EURO 2020 (played in 2021) or maybe the first 10 games under Hansi Flick:

Now, though, it’s a new day for both Bayern Munich and Germany:

Chuck is back in the saddle! Find out what he has been up to and why he has been off the airwaves for a spell.
Germany put itself in a good position to consider this tourney run a success.
It is still early, but Chuck does not like the direction of Bayern Munich’s New World Order in the front office.
Are three center-backs really up for sale?
Fans who wanted change are going to get exactly what they were asking for.
Selling Kingsley Coman might not be easy.
Joshua Kimmich seems likely to leave this summer (or maybe in 2025), while Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry could just get frozen out until they want to leave.

Koundé’s future might be tied to Araújo at Barca (Gerard Romero via 90Min.com)

Arsenal FC wants FC Barcelona defender Jules Koundé, but might have to wait for Barca to figure out what is going on with Ronald Araújo. Araújo, of course, was a target for Bayern Munich until that trail went ice cold:

Arsenal have made contact with Barcelona over a deal to sign French defender Jules Koundé. The La Liga side are reluctant to do business and are currently waiting to see whether Ronald Araújo will attract any significant offers.

Grealish’s new look is...something (@FootballTalkHQ)

I’m afraid he’s too late for a casting call for The Iron Claw or Dutch Boy Paints:

Sure seems like England could use him, eh?

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