Sabitzer wants to stay at United (Fabrizio Romano via The People’s Person)
According to Fabrizio Romano, Bayern Munich loanee Marcel Sabitzer is enthralled with his time at Manchester United so far and could be planning on making the move permanent:
Marcel Sabitzer is reportedly happy to stay at Manchester United beyond his loan spell. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Austrian midfielder is in love with the club. He has a great relationship with the manager Erik ten Hag, and could look to extend his stay at Old Trafford.
Sabitzer’s fine performances in England so far should not be surprising. The Austrian was as a solid of a player as Bayern Munich had during the Hinrunde.
It is a shame that Sabitzer’s tenure at Bayern Munich got off to such a rocky start, as fans did not get a true glimpse of just how good he is until this season. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done in a 4-3-3 at Bayern Munich if Julian Nagelsmann had ever given him the chance to work with both Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.
Either way, it appears that the 28-year-old will be moving on in one way or another from Bayern Munich during the summer transfer window.
United could have other plans, though (Football Insider)
However, Marcel Sabitzer is not the only midfielder on Manchester United’s radar. At least one report has the Red Devils closely connected to West Ham’s Declan Rice:
Man United are still hopeful of signing West Ham star man Declan Rice in the summer, sources have told Football Insider.
The England midfielder has privately expressed a desire to stay in London if he leaves this summer, but that has not put off Erik ten Hag’s high flyers.
The 24-year-old, who was previously valued at £150million by West Ham boss David Moyes, is set to be one of the most sought-after players in world football this summer.
It is unclear if Manchester United would attempt to get both Sabitzer and Rice this summer or if this would be an either/or scenario.
Ceballos “rejects” Bayern (Daily Cannon)
This story has more spin than a great curveball. Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos has “rejected” an overture from Bayern Munich:
Dani Ceballos’s Real Madrid contract expires this season and, with rumours of a new deal on the table, the midfielder who spent two underwhelming seasons on loan with Arsenal, is turning down offers to stay in Spain with Real Madrid.
As previously covered, Bayern Munich have expressed interest in signing Ceballos, but the 26-year-old has reportedly rejected their offer, as he doesn’t want to leave Spain.
His former club, Real Betis, had hoped to sign him on a free, but that now seems unlikely with Real Madrid keen on keeping him. Ceballos has been performing well for Real Madrid in recent games and is ‘regaining his confidence and happiness’, whilst he has also won over the home crowd who have been serenading him with pleas to stay.
That, however, hasn’t stopped parts of the media making sure he stays with Real Madrid by accusing him of betraying the club if he takes €10m to sign for Real Betis.
Bayern Munich’s alleged interest in Ceballos was always sketchy at best (and was eventually denied), so this report is odd, to say the least.
Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 33 (Bavarian Football Works)
If you want storylines, Bayern Munich has those in bunches.
The club is embroiled in a crazy title race and also came out with some extremely strong public support for its manager to continue to be its leader for the foreseeable future.
Those two topics generated a lot of buzz these week, plus we heard a couple of juicy transfer rumors, which always make for good conversation.
Check out what we on tap for the Weekend Warm-up Podcast’s latest edition:
- The Julian Nagelsmann Era is in full force and won’t be be derailed.
- Neymar’s injury and the impact it will have on Paris Saint-Germain’s chances against Bayern Munich.
- A contract extension for Benjamin Pavard?
- Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona all competing for Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz? Or will Bayern make a move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
- Thoughts on the latest episode of The Last of Us.
ICYMI: FIFPRO’s World XI (@brfootball)
That backline…is a bit shady:
Juve midfield plans are shaking out (Calciomercato via 90Min.com)
It looks like Juventus could be content to lose both Adrien Rabiot and Weston McKennie during the summer:
Juventus are ready to lose Adrien Rabiot on a free transfer this summer, while they have no plans on welcoming Weston McKennie back at the end of his loan spell at Leeds.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 35 (Bavarian Football Works)
After losing to Gladbach last weekend, Bayern Munich have dispatched fellow title challengers Union Berlin with a commanding 3-0 win on a snowy night in Munich. Despite the horrible conditions, Julian Nagelsmann’s men quickly took control of the game and managed to score all three goals on one of the best defensive teams in the Bundesliga before the halftime whistle. The second half was more muted, but Union could not strike back as Bayern managed a statement victory to go back to the top of the table.
In this episode, INNN and Samrin discuss the following:
- An overall look at the lineup and formation.
- How Matthijs de Ligt has become a defensive rock for Bayern Munich.
- The quiet intelligence of Josip Stanisic and what he brings to the team.
- INNN vents his frustration about how Alphonso Davies is judged by Bayern fans.
- The incredible midfield pairing of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka plus why it works.
- The definitive rant about Thomas Muller and what he brings to the team.
- A final note on the attack and attackers — Musiala’s role, Choupo’s excellence, and Coman’s form.
- Will Julian Nagelsmann stick with this setup? Should he?
- How Nagelsmann’s tinkering hurts Bayern Munich.
- Why does the Bundesliga seem harder this year? Are the better European performances a sign of better teams?