Weekend Warm-up: Is Chelsea’s Kai Havertz going to be Bayern Munich’s summer transfer shocker?; Leroy Sané’s f…

I can’t fight this feeling any more (andnot in a REO Speedwagon kind of way, either).

Something keeps telling me that we are going to see a “shock signing” this summer from Bayern Munich that will be someone other than the usual suspects, who have been consistently linked to the club like Eintracht Frankfurt forward Randal Kolo Muani, Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović, or even West Ham defensive midfielder Declan Rice.

By the time a “shock” move happens, we should know Bayern Munich’s outcome on attempting to acquire those three aforementioned players. I’m talking about an acquisition that we are not expecting, which Bayern Munich pulls out of a hat — very similar to what happened when the Bavarians inked former Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt season or when Bouna Sarr was signed in the final hours of the 2020 summer transfer window (which was shocking for a whole different reason….2020, what a year, eh?).

The feeling is that something like this could happen again where fans are blindsided by the news…and I think it will be Chelsea FC’s Kai Havertz. Recently, Havertz has been heavily linked to a transfer to Real Madrid, but Fabrizio Romano’s most recent report indicates that Los Blancos are not yet ready to roll the dice on Havertz just because Carlo Ancelotti likes him:

We already know that Chelsea wants to unload Havertz and several other players during the summer. As the days dwindle and the scorching days of July and early August grind on, perhaps we will see Chelsea relent a little on its financial demands, to a point where Bayern Munich feel like it has to make a move.

Bayern Munich’s brass has long been a fan of Havertz and even tried to bring him to Bavaria just a few years ago. Things are — theoretically — lining up for the club to finally get its man.

This might sound like I am doubling down on a previous dumb prediction (I am!), but the winds of change (Sorry Scorps) are blowing and Bayern Munich might be in the mood to not let everything leak out of the walls of Säbener Straße for public consumption just yet.

Where Havertz would fit on this team remains to be seen, but really….where does anyone fit these days? As of now, Tuchel could be planning with a 4-2-3-1, a 4-3-3, a 4-1-4-1, or even a 3-4-3.

It is an open book of possibility where Havertz might be able to flourish. Able to play as a striker, an attacking midfielder, a wing, or even an offensively-minded No. 8, Havertz can be a player who can fill multiple roles for Tuchel — which could come in handy if you believe the list of players who the Rekordmeister allegedly has up for sale.

We did start to see some rumors emerge this week, but they picked up very little traction in the mainstream, deep state German sports media (I am laying it on thick here to convince you all to wear a tinfoil hat with me!).

Could Havertz be…the one? Could he be the transfer that many are not even expecting?

Maybe.

Are you getting the “blindside transfer stunner” feeling I am? Let me know in the comments.

Sané’s future becoming more cloudy

Earlier this week, we began to see stories emerge that Bayern Munich was considering a sale of Leroy Sané, among other players.

It was just back in late March when we read about the strong relationship between Sané and Thomas Tuchel and how the new manager valued him…so what happened? We can explore the answer to that in a bit, but here is the latest info from Sport Bild journalists Tobi Altschäffl and Christian Falk (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), presenting a possible transfer as a topic:

Leroy Sané’s future is uncertain. The winger is on the list of potential sale candidates next to the likes of (Sadio) Mané, (Serge) Gnabry, (Marcel) Sabitzer, (Alexander) Nübel, (Benjamin) Pavard, (Bouna) Sarr, (Yann) Sommer.

How did Sané go from a player that Tuchel looked like he was going to lean on, to one who might be leaving? It is a hard question to answer.

What we know about Sané from his work under high-profile managers like Pep Guardiola, Hansi Flick, and Julian Nagelsmann is that he is a gifted talent, who has incredible ability. We also know that each coach struggled to get consistent play from Sané both in games and in training (perhaps the bigger issue).

In addition, Sané’s biggest career obstacle might actually just be…himself. The 27-year-old sometimes battles himself with unconfident play. When Sané is at his best, he is among the most electric players in the world. When he goes into one of his funks, however, he is just another confused winger.

What can he ascend to under Tuchel? The bigger question might be, however, “Will we ever find out what he could be under Tuchel?”

Bavarian Podcast Works— Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 2, Episode 48 (Bavarian Football Works)

We are deep in the throws of silly season with Bayern Munich and it has been absolute craziness for days now.

With some big name (and money!) players potentially coming in to Bayern Munich and some club staples potentially heading out, the team is in a state of flux. There is plenty to talk about, so let’s get to it:

The transfer of West Ham’s Declan Rice to Bayern Munich is not looking good…what’s next? Who can Bayern Munich get if Arsenal FC makes its play for Rice?
Thoughts on Bayern Munich’s plan to revamp its attack and why it has the futures for Sadio Mané, Leroy Sané, and Serge Gnabry on shaky ground.
Why Raphael Guerreiro was a deft pickup.
Some thoughts on Bayern Munich’s instability, how long it might take the new leadership to fix, and why patience will be vital for fans of the club.

Keita back to the Bundesliga

This…came out of nowhere (and surely won’t make Markopolo happy).

Liverpool FC midfielder Naby Keita is reportedly on his way back to the Bundesliga to play for…Werder Bremen.

Say what?

Yup, the 28-year-old former RB Leipzig player could be on his way back to Germany to play for the Die Grün-Weißen:

Lionel Messi to Inter Miami. Karim Benzema to Al-Ittihad. Granit Xhaka to Bayer Leverkusen.

This transfer window has already has some odd moves…let’s just add Keita-to-Werder Bremen to that list.

Song of the Week: “Cochise” by Audioslave

Released in 2002, “Cochise” was the best song (in my opinion) that was ever released by Audioslave — what amounted to an alt-rock supergroup consisting of Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine), Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine), and Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine).

There are three specific things that hit hard about this song: