Daily Schmankerl: Will Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo land at Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, or FC Barcelona?; Ma…

City to propose Cancelo for Kimmich swap deal? (The Express)

With Manchester City set to lose Germany international İlkay Gündoğan, Pep Guardiola could be plotting to reunited with his old Bayern Munich charge, Joshua Kimmich, by offering Joao Cancelo in swap deal:

Manchester City are set to target Joshua Kimmich as a long-term replacement for İlkay Gündoğan by proposing a swap deal with Bayern Munich that would see Joao Cancelo remain at the Allianz Arena, according to reports. Gundogan will be out of contract at the Etihad Stadium at the end of the season as things stand, with the newly-crowned Premier League champions yet to extend his spell on their books despite the 32-year-old having just over a month left on his current deal.
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Gündoğan has been an excellent servant to City since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund back in 2016, although it seems that his time in Manchester might soon be coming to an end given the uncertainty of his contract situation into next season and beyond. City will need to replace Gundogan if he leaves and have recently been credited with a strong desire to land Kimmich, who has already been lined up for a potential swap deal that would see Cancelo move the other way, according to The Mirror.

Let’s start out with the fact that Kimmich is likely not going anywhere, but now play along. While Cancelo is an interesting player, it remains very doubtful that he is a player that is needed on the squad unless Bayern Munich feels as if Alphonso Davies or Noussair Mazraoui are leaving the club.

We already know that neither Mazraoui nor Cancelo are ready or willing to accept being a bench player. We can also safely assume that Davies would decline that as well.

While Cancelo is a quality player (at least on the attack), he does have some defensive deficiencies and might not be a fit for the roster. Even if Bayern Munich does want to pursue him, though, I would not expect Kimmich to be included in any type of swap deal.

Bayern eyeing Barca left-back? (Barca Universal)

While Bayern Munich might not be able to (or want to) afford Joao Cancelo, they might be looking at FC Barcelona youngster Alejandro Balde as an option at left-back:

Amid all the speculations linking Joshua Kimmich to a move to FC Barcelona, it appears even FC Barcelona (BFW Editor’s Note: This is original text, it should read: Bayern Munich) are looking to raid the Catalan club this summer, for the services of Alejandro Balde.
According to Gerard Romero, Bayern have sent an offer to the young Barcelona left-back over a potential move to Allianz Arena this summer.
It is no secret that the Bavarians are in the market for fullbacks lately. They have not had much luck with the acquisition of Joao Cancelo, who has become a target for Barcelona in the coming summer.
Romero, though, admits Bayern might not find much success pursuing Balde this summer. Barcelona are determined to keep hold of their young left-back as they consider him a vital part of the club’s project under Xavi Hernandez.
Romero adds that Balde will likely end up signing a contract extension at Camp Nou. His current deal at the club expires in 2024, but Barça could add a customary €1 billion release clause to his new deal.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — RB Leipzig 3-1 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

Well…it happened.

At one point, Bayern Munich looked like a serious contender to capture a treble and now the Bavarians are hoping like hell that Borussia Dortmund will suffer through a horrendous collapse…just to win the league crown.

After dropping a 3-1 decision to RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich is at risk of losing its first Bundesliga title in what seems like…forever.

Let’s take a look at what is on tap for this episode:

A look at the starting XI and some of the odd decisions that Thomas Tuchel made for his 4-2-3-1 alignment.
A run through the box score, including a timeline of how things fell apart.
Thoughts on why the team’s season went down the toilet and why most of it stems from the ill-fated decision to fire Julian Nagelsmann in March and replace him with Tuchel at a totally inopportune time.
Talking through why everything was set up for the perfect storm of organizational failures, poor decisions, ill-fitting players, and an overall tinge of arrogance that led to this mess.

Madrid to make move on Cancelo? (Madrid Universal)

Real Madrid could be poised to make a move for Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo if Bayern Munich does not want to engage in negotiations with Pep Guadiola’s club:

It is no secret that Barcelona are prioritizing a quality full-back for the next season. In this regard, they have previously been linked with Joao Cancelo, and considering his situation, they continue to be interested in his services
However, Real Madrid have entered the race to sign the Portuguese as their requirement is similar to that of Barcelona. What is even more interesting is that Manchester City are said to be preferring Madrid over Barça, if a report from SPORT is to be believed,
Given his difficult relationship with Pep Guardiola, Cancelo simply has no place in the City team, meaning that he will be made available on the market during the summer transfer window. Now, as far as Madrid are concerned, they are aware of the fact that Barça have already held talks with his agent, but their interest benefits everyone involved.
Now, Cancelo is appreciated at Madrid, but it is evident the price of the operation would not go up to €70 million. In any way, Madrid are willing to enter the negotiation and what gives them the edge is that they are ready to sign the player permanently in the summer, unlike Barcelona, who are only interested in loan acquisition.
City are studying the options at hand but one thing is clear they do not want another loan deal and this has given Madrid the edge in the race. For the moment, City will wait for the offers and a decision will be made towards the end of the season.

Cancelo also made kicker’s Bundesliga Team of the Week (despite being a complete non-entity in the second half — his first half was really good, though):

Hummels staying or going at BVB? (Sport1)

Mats Hummels will have a big decision to make: Will he extend his contract with Borussia Dortmund — or will he take his talents elsewhere? The former Bayern Munich star will make the call soon:

Will Mats Hummels follow Marco Reus’ example? The BVB captain extended his expiring contract with BVB a few weeks ago. Hummels’ working paper will also expire in a few weeks. Sebastian Kehl has now commented on the status of contract negotiations. “We are in good talks. I don’t have anything official to announce today. But I have detailed discussions with Mats every week,” said the Dortmund sports director on Sky90.
The 43-year-old emphasized: “We want to extend Mats, he knows that and he also knows that we need a decision from him soon – preferably before the end of the season.” Kehl has a positive feeling about the matter, but in the end the decision rests with Hummels. “I can tell he’s incredibly hungry, but he needs to make a commitment for a new season.”
Kehl can understand Hummel’s thoughts. “He’s giving it some thought right now because he’s in a new phase of life and we understand that very well. However, the whole club would like him to stay with us.” An ex-Dortmunder also advised Hummels to stay and chose a comparison from his own career. “I made a mistake starting something new at 33. Then I went to Kaiserslautern and that just wasn’t right,” said Steffen Freund.
“He should end his career in Dortmund and not change again. Since he can play at the highest level to the end. I would really recommend him to stay in Dortmund.”

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 45 (Bavarian Football Works)

Another week, another set of Bayern Munich stories to discuss.

The Bavarians stomped Schalke 04 last weekend and we saw some plans for the 2023/24 leaked out this week as well. Knowing all of that, there is plenty to discuss. Let’s take a look at what is on tap for this edition of the Weekend Warm-up Podcast:

A look at the rumors regarding Joshua Kimmich’s rumored position change, his power at Bayern Munich, and the interesting timing of the transfer rumors linking him to Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Manchester City. What does this all mean for Leon Goretzka’s future with the club?
Will Bayern Munich move on Ajax’s Edson Alvarez? What about Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Kai Havertz? Or maybe…West Ham’s Declan Rice? Finally, the latest on Bayern’s interest in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani.
Some thoughts on the title race and the implications of this weekend.
Should Sadio Mané stay or go? Manchester United, Chelsea FC, Newcastle United, and Juventus might be interested…but he could want to stay.

Hazard to eschew MLS, Middle East for longer stay in Madrid (Marca via 90Min.com)

Eden Hazard could move on from Real Madrid to a club where he can play more…he just chooses not to:

Eden Hazard has received offers from Major League Soccer and Saudi Arabia but the Belgian winger is determined to see out his contract with Real Madrid.