Daily Schmankerl: João Félix not in Bayern Munich’s plans, but maybe Manchester United’s; Julian Nagelsmann do…

Félix no longer on Bayern’s radar (Marc Behrenbeck via @iMiaSanMia)

The recent rumors linking Bayern Munich to Atlético Madrid star João Félix were rubbished by Sky’s Marc Behrenbeck. Behrenbeck is reporting that Félix’s name was, indeed, tossed around last summer, but that the club will not be considering the attacker moving forward.

Instead, Manchester United appears to be a leader for Félix (even if Atlético Madrid reportedly already rejected a €130 million offer on the 22-year-old Portuguese international):

Göz Atın

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João Félix was an idea at Bayern last summer if the Mané deal didn’t go through. There was contact over a potential €80m deal, but Atlético Madrid quickly said no and the deal was off. Félix is no longer a topic at Bayern despite contrary rumours.

The Portuguese forward will not move to Munich, neither in January nor next summer, although he wants to leave Atlético. Manchester United are interested.

While Félix does look like a player who would seem work under Julian Nagelsmann, it appears that there probably won’t be a scenario that lands him in Bavaria.

De Ligt earns more praise (@WhoScored)

Matthijs de Ligt and a plethora of Borussia Dortmund players scored high enough to be named to WhoScored.com’s “Bundesliga Team of the Week”:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 16 (Bavarian Football Works)

Another week is headed into the books and Bayern Munich is looking good.

The Bavarians picked up a couple of convincing wins since our last show and there is plenty to talk about regarding why the squad is showing some heart and rounding into form.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Why Bayern Munich might be turning the corner and how the squad is melding together.
• Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC are in pursuit of Bayern transfer target Konrad Laimer.
• Is Bayern Munich really plotting a January move for Atlético Madrid’s Joao Felix?
• Ryan Gravenberch is still unhappy.
• Did Bayern Munich reject a release clause for Erling Haaland?
• Talking House of the Dragon (it’s been great of late!)

Amid Barca, Madrid interest, alleged Bayern target Olmo stands pat…for now (Fichajes)

RB Leipzig attacker Dani Olmo has a skillset that a lot of managers would like to work with — including Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann, who managed the Spaniard at RB Leipzig.

Olmo had previously been linked to Bayern Munich at several different points, but now is drawing interest from FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As of now, Olmo is focused on his career in the Bundesliga.

“I was at La Masía for six years. I grew up there in the juvenile, infant and cadet stage and I love it but, as I told you, I pay no attention to speculation. Go back? Or do I think about it. I want to have my head focused on mine and in the future we will see what happens,” he said. “I would love to play in the Spanish league because I’ve never done it but at the moment I’m doing very well in Germany. I still have a year and a half left on my contract. After that I don’t know what will happen.”

Emery to Villa (@FabrizioRomano)

Fabrizio Romano reported that Villarreal manager Unai Emery could be headed to Aston Villa…

and then it really came to fruition:

Crazy, right? That happened so fast.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Bayern Munich 2-0 Hoffenheim (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich cruised to a comfortable victory against Hoffenheim, with coach Julian Nagelsmann witnessing his team score 2 unanswered goals against his former side. The Bavarians were never really in any trouble, thanks to a defending masterclass from the backline, and a composed, mature outing from the midfield.

Choupo-Moting and Musiala take most of the plaudits when it comes to the attack, while Gnabry was solid at best. Not all wins can be flashy 5+ goal thumpings, which is fine. In the end, it is the points and the results that matter. And Bayern has been really solid in the Bundesliga since that regrettable 1-0 loss to Augsburg back in September.

All that said, here are the talking points from the podcast:

• Bayern Munich’s absolute, thorough domination.
• Hoffenheim’s lineup and plan, and how it fell right into Nagelsmann’s hands.
• Fantastic performance from the defense.
• Why Bayern Munich’s defense is Europe’s best.
• Singing more praises of Jamal Musiala.
• Why Choupo-Moting is the player Bayern needed, and how he’s stepped up.
• Sadio Mané and Kingsley Coman’s worrying form and why they’re at a higher risk of being benched.
• Bayern’s prospects in the near future

Nagelsmann bothered by heckling fans (Tz)

Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann did not exactly get a hero’s welcome when returning to Hoffenheim, where he really broke through a coaching prodigy. In fact, Nagelsmann was the targeted for by some hecklers, who whistled derisively at the coach.

”It’s not so nice that a few fans are still whistling. To be honest, I don’t understand it either, but everyone has to know that for themselves,” Nagelsmann said.

PSG seeks to extend Messi (Sky)

Paris Saint-Germain is looking to extend the contract of Lionel Messi:

Paris Saint-Germain are keen to keep Lionel Messi at the club by activating the option to extend his contract by an additional 12 months, according to Le Parisien.

Messi has produced nine goals and 10 assists in 15 matches this season and has reportedly been told by PSG’s de-facto sporting director Luis Campos that the French champions want him to remain in the capital beyond the end of his deal, which expires next summer.

However, the financial aspect of the potential extension is a major issue for PSG, who are concerned by Messi’s €41m salary and a solution will need to be found to extend his deal. Messi, meanwhile, has not yet intimated if he will stay or not, but he is open to the idea of remaining in Paris. Even so, for now, his priority remains the World Cup in Qatar.

There is still time for Bayern Munich to convince Messi that Germany isn’t so bad, right? I kid, I kid…

Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show —Season 5, Episode 17 (Bavarian Football Works)

In this episode of BPW’s Flagship show, Tom and Schnitzel discuss:

• Choupo-Moting’s fine run of form
• Choupo’s presence making Bayern more tactically flexible (playing WITH a striker)
• Should the board give Choupo a one-year extension at some point
• Some of our attackers’ lack of finishing (Sadio Mane, Serge Gnabry)
• Potentially looking at Juventus’ Dušan Vlahović this winter
• Are any players holding back to avoid a pre-World Cup injury?
• What players will Nagelsmann turn to with rotations he has to make for this final hinrunde stretch?
• Will Nagelsmann pick more non-World Cup players (Choupo, Sabitzer, Tel, etc)?
• How we feel about our upcoming Champions League clash against Barcelona (round 2!)