Daily Schmankerl: Is Real Madrid making its move on Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies?; Would Sadio Mané take a…

Madrid pushing for talks with Davies…or no? (Marca via @iMiaSanMia)

Marca journalist José Félix Diaz sure has his nose in Bayern Munich’s business these days doesn’t he?

When he’s not predicting that Bayern Munich is on the verge of inking West Ham’s Declan Rice, Diaz has also been saying that Lucas Hernandez is about to sign with Paris Saint-Germain. Now, he has a report stating that Real Madrid wants to talk about a Davies transfer — and that club officials have already flown to Munich twice to chat with Davies’ entourage:

Real Madrid have asked Bayern about the possibility of negotiating for Alphonso Davies. Officials from the Spanish club have traveled to Munich twice to speak to the player’s camp.

However, Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg countered Diaz’s report, but it was not an outright denial — only that Bayern Munich was “unaware” of a meeting between Los Blancos and the agent for Davies (who — by the way — did just push off negotiations with Bayern for a year):

News #Davies: FC Bayern is not informed of a meeting between Real Madrid officials and the management of Davies in Munich – as called via @marca. But as revealed a few weeks ago:

Real is very interested in Davies but for the clubs he’s not for sale in summer.

Bayern only willing to sale Hernández (60+) AND Pavard (30+)!

@SkySportDE

Is Diaz on-point with all of this…or is he just throwing things at the wall to see what sticks?

Magpies might be prepping Mané bid (TEAMtalk)

Newcastle United could be laying low and preparing to do the unthinkable — take Sadio Mané’s hefty salary off of Bayern Munich’s books:

Reports in Germany claim Bayern Munich are keen to offload forward Sadio Mane this summer and hope that Newcastle make an offer for him.

The 31-year-old joined the Bavarians last summer after making the shock decision to leave Liverpool. The Senegal star had spent six successful seasons at Anfield, racking up 269 appearances in all competitions. He bagged 120 goals while winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.

However, the African ace opted for a new challenge in the summer of 2022, with Bayern paying Liverpool in the region of £27m for his signature.

Part of me wants to see if Mané has anything left in the tank, but the wiser side tells me to take the money (off the books) and run.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 48 (Bavarian Football Works)

Having won the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich turn their attentions to the transfer window. The major topic of the week is Declan Rice, who is at the top of the list of the club’s options for defensive midfield. In addition, the fallout from the sacking of Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic continues with serious confusion in squad planning and reports that Bayern’s backline could be set for a shakeup.

In the meantime, Bavarian Podcast Works has been nominated for the 2023 edition of the World Soccer Talk — Best Club Podcast Award. Click on that link and go vote for us!

In this episode, INNN and Chuck talk about the following:

WHO could be the striker Bayern Munich signs this season? A summary of realistic options.
The pros and cons of Dusan Vlahovic.
What if Bayern Munich can’t secure one of its top transfer targets?
The big one: Would Declan Rice even consider a move to Bayern? What’s in it for him?
Debating the merits of bringing in Declan Rice — the impact on Leon Goretzka/Konrad Laimer/Ryan Gravenberch, could Kimmich do his job, his potential role in the system, and alternatives.
Has losing Brazzo thrown a wrench in Bayern’s long term squad planning?
WHY is the board trying to sign Raphael Guerreiro?
What happens if Bayern Munich loses both Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard?
If you had to sell only one, who would it be?

PSG making contingency plans in case Bayern plays hardball (PSG Talk)

Bayern Munich has threatened to “not allow” defenders Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard leave the club if they are not comfortable with potential replacements.

For Paris Saint-Germain, that seems…fine. The Ligue 1 power will just move, grab another player, and wait a year to get Hernandez on a free transfer:

Paris Saint-Germain eyes Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez to fill the left-footed center-back role on the back line for the 2023-24 season. However, if the German giants aren’t willing to part ways with the 27-year-old defender, PSG will have to look at other options. As a result, GOAL Brasil (h/t Paris Fans) reported that PSG is considering making an offer for a Plan B.

The report reveals that PSG is considering making an offer for Gabriel, but the defender wants to stay at Arsenal. He does not even think of a possible transfer to another league. But PSG intends to contact the player’s entourage and present an offer.

Bayern Munich could try and take the year and convince Pavard and Hernandez to stay, but it would be a massive risk. To lose one or both players and get nothing in return would be tough for many to stomach.

Affordable Havertz getting Madrid interest (@Plettigoal)

Chelsea FC’s Kai Havertz is getting interest from Real Madrid — and he could be very affordable. Like €50-to-€60 million affordable:

This is the part where I normally throw on my tinfoil hat and speculate about Bayern Munich getting into the mix for Havertz…but you have heard that enough, eh?

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 2, Episode 47 (Bavarian Football Works)

What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Bayern Munich somehow won its 11th consecutive Bundesliga championship as Borussia Dortmund suffered through a massive collapse — and somehow that was one of the least crazy stories of the week.

Admittedly, Bayern Munich fans have had a lot to process with everything, so what better way to do it than with the Weekend Warm-up Podcast and at Bavarian Football Works.

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

Some thoughts on the title win and the massive fallout that saw CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić get sacked.
Who might be coming in: Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović and West Ham defensive midfielder Declan Rice.
Who might be headed out: Benjamin Pavard, Lucas Hernandez, Leon Goretzka, and Alphonso Davies.
Who is likely coming back (at least for a little while): Marcel Sabitzer.
Why this might be the summer that Bayern Munich “goes big.”

As you can see, there is a lot to cover.

Did City block Cancelo from Barca move last winter? (Sport Witness)

It appears that Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo never really wanted to join Bayern Munich after all. In fact, the only reason he ended up in Bavaria is because Manchester City would not let him leave for FC Barcelona:

Two days ago, Xavi Hernández told TV3 that Manchester City blocked João Cancelo’s move to Barcelona in the winter market. The defender ended up joining Bayern Munich on loan in the same window and is now set to return to the Etihad.

The La Liga side are still keen to sign the 29-year-old in the summer but Xavi’s comments could cause them ‘problems with City’.

That’s according to AS, who explain that Manchester City are surprised by the Barca coach’s comments about Cancelo.

The Citizens insist they not only didn’t veto the move but also asked the fullback’s agent, Jorge Mendes, to prioritise a transfer to the Catalan club. Mendes found out the Blaugrana weren’t able to offer a deal that Bayern proposed to his client.

Pep Guardiola’s side believe Xavi could have been given this [wrong information as per the English champions] information through intermediaries because none of their officials have had direct contact with him on this topic.

Xavi had also complained that there’s a section within the club who don’t recognise his work he has done so far. This refers to those at Barcelona who are hoping for Guardiola’s return to the Camp Nou.

Despite the connections between Manchester City and Barca, the relationship between the two clubs is ‘not going through its best moment’.

Barca are keen to sign İlkay Gündoğan, whose contract at the Etihad expires in June.

The report states Manchester City ‘could make a counter offer’ to the midfielder, to ‘make things more complicated’ for Xavi’s side to sign him for free in the summer.

The Spanish giants are having ‘problems with City’ and it may have an impact on their summer deals involving Gündoğan and Cancelo.

It was not a bad loan stint for him either way, eh?