Daily Schmankerl: Chelsea’s Mateo Kovačić to Bayern Munich might happen; PSG wary of Bayern’s interest in Rand…

More info on Kovačić to Bayern (Sport1’s Kerry Hau via @iMiaSanMia)

One of the more controversial names that Bayern Munich has been linked with of late is Chelsea FC midfielder Mateo Kovačić.

According to Sport1’s Kerry Hau, though, maybe the Croatian should not be all that contentious of a subject for Bayern Munich fans:

Mateo Kovačić is a transfer candidate for FC Bayern. The Croatian midfielder is no longer happy at Chelsea – he wants and is allowed to leave the club. Kovačić was one of Thomas Tuchel’s favourite players at Chelsea. Bayern’s interest is not concrete yet.
In addition to his footballing qualities, Kovačić speaks German because he was born in Austria, grew up and played youth football for Linz. Kovačić was already a target for former Bayern coach Niko Kovač in 2018, but chose to join Chelsea from Real Madrid back then.
It’s not yet known how much Chelsea would ask for Kovačić. But it’s clear that Bayern would get him cheaper than Premier League clubs. Pep Guardiola would like to bring Kovačić to Manchester City, but Chelsea prefer to sell abroad.

Evening Standard journalist Nizaar Kinsella had addition information on Kovačić:

Mateo Kovačić looks likely to leave Chelsea this summer, with Thomas Tuchel keen on a reunion at Bayern Munich. It is understood that Chelsea would prefer to sell the midfielder to a club outside England if possible.

Here is one last gem from Kinsella for you as well:

Tuchel is also interested in a move to take Mason Mount to the Allianz Arena.

One the surface, there is nothing wrong with Kovačić as a player. He is a solid, dependable option in the midfield. However, his profile is a No. 8, which the club could be overrun with next season.

Knowing that, it might be best to not spend the money on him — even if he is available at a bargain basement price.

PSG wary of Bayern interest in Kolo Muani (PSG Talk)

Paris Saint-German is reportedly growing wary of Bayern Munich’s sudden focus on Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani.

It appears that the clubs could be heading for a showdown over the France international:

Paris Saint-Germain sporting advisor Luis Campos will be in the market for a striker this summer transfer window. One target the capital club has been constantly linked to is Eintracht Frankfurt Randal Kolo Muani.
However, the French giants must prepare for a battle to land the 24-year-old goal scorer. According to Sky Sport Germany (h/t RMC Sport), Uli Hoeness, the honorary president of Bayern Munich, would like the Bundesliga giants to pursue Kolo Muani this summer transfer window.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. Hertha Berlin (Bavarian Podcast Works)

Just a couple of months ago, it appeared unlikely that Bayern Munich would still be playing meaningful games at this point of the season.

Now, the team is fight for its Bundesliga life.

Sitting in second place, the Bavarians will have to fend off a hapless Hertha Berlin side, in hopes of not totally burying itself in the league. Let’s take a look at wat we have on tap for this episode:

A look at the Bundesliga standing and the recent form of both teams.
A complete guess at what Thomas Tuchel might do with his lineup for this match.
Some thoughts on how this is all unraveling and why it might not be easy to find a solution.

MLS Prez says league will have to get clever to land Messi (CBS Sports)

MLS president Don Garber spoke openly about the league’s pursuit of PSG star Lionel Messi and doing everything it can to help him land at Inter Miami:

Answering a question from CBS Sports in a meeting with the Associated Press Sports Editors on Tuesday, league commissioner Don Garber spoke about the potential of a move, saying that Messi “can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States.”
“There isn’t a league that wouldn’t like to have Lionel Messi in their league,” Garber said. “There are a lot of dynamics that are going on there. He’s got a lot of things to think about in terms of where he wants to continue his career. I can tell you that we would love him in Major League Soccer. We will work very hard with Miami, who is the team that is hoping to be able to sign him, to come up with a program for him that will allow him to establish a legacy that I think could be unprecedented globally, let alone unprecedented here in our country because I think of him as someone who crosses so many barriers that he can be bigger than any athlete of any sport that has ever played here in the United States. We have been pretty effective at coming up with clever ways to sign players for our clubs in the right market. It’s very real-time and I hope that we’re able to get in front of the discussion and hopefully bring something over the finish line.”
Given the pull that Messi has, especially considering the large South American connection to Miami, it makes sense that Garber will do what he can as league commissioner to get a deal done. With the financial constraints of the league compared to Europe’s biggest leagues, they can’t offer a similar financial package to PSG at face value so they’d need to sweeten the pot with other incentives.

Seeing Messi in MLS would be surreal. Miami would certainly be a wild scene on a game-to-game basis. Would Messi like MLS and everything that comes along with it (schedule setup, different starting period for the season, travel arrangements, etc.)? Probably not, but if he wants to give playing in the United States a run, it can be assumed that MLS will do whatever is needed to make it happen.

Madrid flying to Germany for Bellingham meeting (Marca via 90Min.com)

Real Madrid appears set for meeting in Germany with Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham in “the coming days”:

Real Madrid will fly to Germany in the coming days in a bid to convince Jude Bellingham that a move to the Bernabeu from Borussia Dortmund this summer is in his best interests.

Hudson-Odoi playing it slow with next move (90Min.com)

Remember when Bayern Munich acquiring Callum Hudson-Odoi was all the rage? It was maybe one of the best moves that the club never made.

The young Englishman, who is on loan at Bayer Leverkusen (another Premier League attacker underperforming in Germany…color me shocked) has never lived up to the lofty billing and is certainly not deserving of the hefty salary that he was given by Chelsea FC. Now, it appears that he will not rush to any decision on what he will do next:

Callum Hudson-Odoi has not yet made a decision on his future at Chelsea and will first seek talks with the club’s new manager, 90min understands.
The 22-year-old has spent the current campaign on loan with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a deal which, despite the German side’s best attempts, does not include an option to buy, meaning Hudson-Odoi will return to Chelsea in the summer.
He has endured a challenging spell in Germany which has yielded just seven Bundesliga starts, having found minutes hard to come by under new manager Xabi Alonso.
When Hudson-Odoi returns to Chelsea, he will have 12 months on his contract and so a decision will have to be made on his future. The Blues are open to selling the winger but sources have stressed to 90min that Hudson-Odoi wants to speak with the new manager before making any decision on his future.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 42 (Bavarian Football Works)

What happens when Bayern Munich is in the midst of a crazy period where the executives, the coaches, and the players are all under-performing and the events are being referred to as “shambolic” by some pundits?

Well, at Bavarian Podcast Works, we throw our normal Weekend Warm-up format out the window and go full roundtable.

Instead of just hearing my voice, I teamed up with BFW superstar Ineednoname and former BFW staffer and current Daily Mail journo Jake Fenner to break down what’s went wrong, how things are going, and what things might look like moving forward.

We cover it all, give our takes on why this has become a mess, and why no one — from the coach to the CEO to the starting No. 8 — is really safe these days.