Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt offered to Liverpool?; Two players must go at Real Madrid to bring in Alphonso Davies; Great stuff going on at the EUROs; Would Bayern have interest in Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; and MORE!
Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s Matthijs de Ligt offered to Liverpool?; Two players must go at Real Madrid to bring in Alphonso Davies; Great stuff going on at the EUROs; Would Bayern have interest in Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; and MORE!
De Ligt offered to LFC (CaughtOffside)
As uncertainty circles around Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, Liverpool FC could be a potential land spot for the Dutchman:
Liverpool are looking to improve their defensive unit this summer and Matthijs De Ligt has been linked with a move to the club.
According to a report from TBR Football, Premier League clubs have been offered the opportunity to sign Netherlands international. The 24-year-old central defender is reportedly frustrated at Bayern Munich and he would be keen on leaving the club.
The German giants are in talks to sign Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen and they have already signed Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart. Therefore, they would be open to selling the Dutch international as well. It remains to be seen whether Liverpool can win the race for the services. Apart from them, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have been offered the player as well.
The defender joined Bayern Munich in a deal with around £70 million in 2022, and he is unlikely to be a cheap acquisition. The German outfit will demand premium for him. It will be interesting to see if the Premier League clubs are willing to pay up.
De Ligt’s situation is one that will become more in focus upon the EUROs ending. At this rate, it seems like De Ligt is likely to move from Bavaria, but with Dayot Upamecano also potentially looking to continue his career elsewhere, Bayern Munich could be in for a little more change than even it is comfortable with.
Bayern has no competition for Palhinha (CaughtOffside)
As of now, it does not look like Bayern Munich has any serious competition in trying to procure Fulham FC defensive midfielder João Palhinha:
Bayern Munich are still working on the transfer of Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha and there doesn’t currently look to be any competition for his signature, according to transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano.
The Portugal international has shone in the Premier League and looks like he’d surely be a quality signing for a number of top clubs, though at the moment is seems like only Bayern are making serious moves to win the race for this deal this summer.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Romano provided an update on the Palhinha situation, explaining that it is now key for Bayern and Fulham to agree on a fee for the 28-year-old.
For now, the two clubs seem some way apart on the final amount to be paid for Palhinha, so it will be interesting to see if this can be resolved, or if it perhaps ends up dragging on and allowing other clubs an opportunity to enter the running.
It’s sure to be a busy summer for Bayern after such a disappointing season last term, with the club ending their long run of Bundesliga title wins, while they also under-achieved in the Champions League.
New signings like Palhinha could be crucial to help get the club back on track under new manager Vincent Kompany, with Romano providing an update on the situation.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show: Germany 5-1 Scotland (Bavarian Football Works)
Germany kicked off its EURO 2024 campaign against Scotland in a match that had a palpable buzz.
It was the EUROs after all.
The Germans were able to thrash Scotland 5-1 and pick up a vital first win in what the team hopes to be a long and successful run on its home soil. As always, we have some takes on the match, so let’s get to it and discuss everything that happened on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:
- A look at Julian Nagelsmann’s lineup vs. Scotland.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- Some thoughts on the electric atmosphere and how it might have played a role in Scotland coming out so tentative.
- Appreciation for Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, Toni Kroos, and Niclas Füllkrug.
- What looked great and what Nagelsmann might need to keep an eye on.
- Germany was dominant and we were impressed...were you?
Fans having a blast in Germany (@OnsOranje)
The Dutch, Italian, and albania fans are among those loving life in Germany for the EUROs:
Two Madrid players could go to make way for Davies (Madrid Universal)
If Real Madrid ultimately opts to bring in Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies this summer, it means that Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia might have to leave the club:
According to a report by Alejandro Alcazar in SPORT, Real Madrid has informed Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia that they will be put up for sale if Alphonso Davies is signed this summer.
Real Madrid are considering signing Davies, however, they would prefer to wait until 2025 when his contract with Bayern Munich expires, allowing him to join for free.
This approach would be financially beneficial as it would save the club the transfer fee. Currently, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have a difference of €20 million between the asking price and the offer for Davies.
Davies has one more year left on his contract with Bayern Munich and is asking for a salary increase. He initially requested €20 million but has lowered his demand to €16 million.
Bayern Munich raised their offer from €10 million to €13 million, but it still does not meet Davies’ expectations.
Real Madrid are willing to pay the €16 million salary he is asking for, and they may even offer more if he joins as a free agent in 2025 to compensate for the lack of a transfer fee.
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 48 (Bavarian Football Works)
Somehow, the weeks around here keep getting crazier.
Bayern Munich is a whirlwind of activity and the German national team is ready to kick off one of its most important tournaments in years.
Clearly, we have a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- I’ve got a bad feeling about this...new regime. The current roster? The transfer plans? Something just does not feel right and the New World Order in Bavaria could be guiding Bayern Munich into an iceberg of failure.
- Is the front office purposely creating a leadership void to reboot the team’s mentality?
- Hiroki Ito is a good player, but does he make Bayern Munich better? What about Jonathan Tah? Will they be better than Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano?
- If Bayern Munich sells off De Ligt, it is incredibly dumb — especially if it is over money.
- Alphonso Davies looks like he could stay, while Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Serge Gnabry do not want to leave Bavaria...now what? Money could be an issue for all of these players as well.
- Here we go with Germany! Julian Nagelsmann’s legacy will start to be determined now. Did he already make a mistake by calling in Emre Can for Leon Goretzka?
Keane hammers Scotland after drubbing by Germany (The Independent)
Roy Keane and Graeme Souness obliterated Scotland for its lackluster showing against Germany on Friday:
ITV pundits Roy Keane and former Scotland international Graeme Souness had no sympathy and no mercy for Steve Clarke’s side after a brutal Euro 2024 defeat at the hands of Germany.
Souness, who won over 50 caps for Scotland and represented them at the 1978, ‘82 and ‘86 World Cups, decried his national side as being so poor as to not really being able to give a good gauge of whether Germany had actually performed well or not.
“We were miserable. I’m so disappointed, we let ourselves down badly tonight,” he said after the match. I can’t really tell you how good this Germany team are because Scotland were so bad. We’ll have to see how they do against a decent side.”
In part-mitigation, he pointed to the wide gap in quality level between the sides when referring to one key first-half moment: Ryan Porteous’ horror tackle on Ilkay Gundogan, which resulted in a red card for the Scotland defender and a penalty for Germany, dispatched by Kai Havertz.
“That sums it up: A Watford centre-half committing a terrible foul on a Barcelona star,” he lamented.
While fellow pundit Ian Wright acknowledged Scotland should have been more “resilient” he also reserved plenty of praise for the “brilliant” Musiala, who created chances all night and scored one himself. Keane, meanwhile, did not hold back in criticising a lack of tactical discipline, willingness to show fighting spirit and technical ability from Scotland.
“They were second best in every aspect of the game tonight. Physically, tactically, even mentally,” he said. “They showed a little fighting spirit in the second half as you’d expect, but the difference in quality was chalk and cheese. They were out of their depth. The goalkeeper [Angus Gunn] lacks international experience and was found out tonight, not quick enough [to get down to save]. I love watching talented players but my goodness, playing football at this level you’ve got to be aggressive, you’ve got to hit people, but do it in the right way. The penalty was madness but football’s a physical game and they didn’t lay a glove on [Germany]. When you’re playing football at this level, you’ve got to hit people! Hit them properly, aggressively, in the right way. It’s no good saying after the game, ‘we had a gameplan,’ it’s rubbish! It’s rubbish coming out, you knew it before the game, what’s at stake.
“After, it’s no good saying, ‘we’ll regroup and be angry tomorrow’. You should be angry for a long time. They spoke about creating history, they’re creating history alright, by playing as bad as that and letting their manager and supporters down.”
Teenage Mutant Mbappé Turtles? (@ESPNFC)
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé is always the target of his teammates’ jokes — even for France:
Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 6, Episode 49 (Bavarian Football Works)
Bayern Munich’s offseason reload could be starting off in a big way as the club is planning on making a big splash immediately. In addition to that, there was a bizarre story put out by Sky Sport last week, which detailed six top players who could be sold this summer by the Bavarians.
Oh, and then there is the German national team and how things look after two friendlies. Yup, there is a lot to chat about, so let’s get to it. Here is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show:
- A look at Bayern Munich’s rumored €40 million splurge on João Palhinha and what that might mean for the other midfielders on the roster.
- Delving into the six players who Sky listed as for sale this summer.
- Assessing where the German national team stands after underwhelming performances against Ukraine and Greece.
Ronaldinho not a fan of this Brazil side (@ESPNFC)
Well, we know one person who is not too excited to watch Brazil play in the Copa América tournament:
Kvaratskhelia on the move? (@FabrizioRomano)
The father of Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia does not sound too keen (at least at the moments) on the idea of his son staying with the club:
Kvaratskhelia’s father: “I don’t want Khvicha to stay in Napoli”, told Sport Imedi.
“He worked with 4 different coaches in 1 year, this worries me a lot — he will decide for himself, although it’s uncomfortable for me”.
“I haven’t talked to Khvicha about this topic, I’m not going to until the end of the Euro 2024”.
It gets better, though:
Napoli had a retort to that statement:
Hmmm...Bayern Munich is looking to refresh its wing position. Would the Bavarians splurge for a player who has been on their radar in the past?