Daily Schmankerl: Bayern-Juventus talking swap; Aaron Ramsey a target?; the aftermath of Bayern-Freiburg; and MORE!

Report: Bayern and Juve talk James-Dybala swap (Calciomercato)

There are two camps of opinions on the future of James Rodriguez in Bavaria:

• Camp #1 thinks that every public statement that James has made about his happiness in Munich should be taken as gospel and indicative of his true feelings.
• Camp #2 thinks that James is savvy enough to know that stating a public desire to leave would only make an exit even more difficult and that privately there must be some truth to the rumors that James would like to move on.

In the end, we may not know until the summer what the case really is, but it would appear that maybe (*possibly) someone inside the club believes that James will be moving on, despite the fact that Bayern holds the cards in the loan/transfer situation with Real Madrid:

Juventus and Bayern Munich are reported to have begun informal talks about a possible swap deal between Paulo Dybala and James Rodriguez. According to Rai Sport, the Black-and-White President Andrea Agnelli has already spoken about the matter with Karl-Heinz-Rummenigge. An informal talk held during the last ECA Meeting.

According to the Italian broadcasters, Rummenigge is an admirer of Dybala and the same goes for Bayern Munich’s technical staff. Rummenigge and Agnelli are on very good terms but at the moment neither Bayern nor Juve has gone further than informal talks. At the moment neither parties have made an official offer although both clubs are aware that there is room for summer negotiations as the swap deal between the two players is not going to be finalized in the January transfer window.

Dybala was one of the best players on the pitch for Juventus yesterday with La Joya who gave the Old Lady an early lead through a stunning solo goal.

As for now, this is just a rumor. Perhaps there is no weight at all to it, but to me (at least), if a player truly does not want to be with a certain club, there is no point in holding him/her hostage. It will be very interesting to see how the situation plays out for James and Bayern alike in the coming months.

Report: Bayern could be the front-runner for Aaron Ramsey (The Daily Express)

Reports out of England indicate that Bayern could be on the verge of making a move for Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey. Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea are among the other clubs interested in the 27-year old.

BAYERN MUNICH have emerged as surprise front-runners in the pursuit of Welsh international Aaron Ramsey when he leaves Arsenal in the summer. The Gunners have told the midfielder that he won’t be offered a new deal when his contract runs out at the end of the season and he will be allowed to leave. The Bundesliga giants have been showing a keen interest in Ramsey’s contract talks with Arsenal, which have collapsed with the club looking to make some wage-bill savings.

And they would like to sit down and offer him a deal to move to Germany as soon as they are allowed under FIFA rules early in the New Year. The news with be a blow for Manchester United, who have Ramsey near the top of their summer shopping list. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is also mulling over if he wants to get involved in what could become a bidding war for the former Cardiff City man. But Chelsea are now having second thoughts about making a move for Ramsey after the early-season form of their England players Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Die Folgen: Bayern vs. Freiburg (Bavarian Football Works)

It was sad in many ways, but Bayern Munich choked on a chance to make some headway in the table as it tied SC Freiburg 1-1. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• I am close to concluding that Niko Kovač has no feel for how to manage the players on this team. Part of the blame has to go on those players, but they largely just look out of sync. I would attribute to the rotation issues and Kovač’s lack of feel for how to best utilize them. He just looks like he’s scuffling to find solutions from game to game rather than just confidently using the talent at his disposal.
• The move of Joshua Kimmich to the “6” was the perfect example of the point above. It was unnecessary and arrogant. While Die Mannschaft may need Kimmich manning the defensive midfield, Bayern certainly does not. What Kimmich brings to the table as a right back is a skill-set that is not easily replicated and one that causes the lineup to be missing a great weapon when it is not there. Kovač bricked on this.
• He may have his haters (certainly not his wife), but Thomas Müller is one of the reasons that Robert Lewandowski has had such a successful run at Bayern. If you want the best out of Lewandowski, I think you need to play Müller behind him. Whether that means James playing the “8” or trying to play as a freelancing winger, I don’t know, but Kovač seems to have pushed Müller to the bench more than the normal rotation would call for of late.
• Niklas Süle is no longer the future of Bayern’s back line, he is the present. It’s clear he has reached “must start” territory for all big games. Jerome Boateng is not looking like himself and might need a less regular role at this stage. Whether it is injury/health-related, skill erosion, or just a lack of buy-in, Boateng’s performance this season has not been what we have been used to seeing.
• Needless to say, this is NOT the way Bayern needed to enter a week where it was a Champions League tilt (AEK Athens) and Der Klassiker.
• I predicted a 4-0 Bayern win...as always, I am terrible.

If you missed our Match Awards or Observations give them a look:

A call for fan groups (BavarianFootballWorks.com)

We are trying something here at the Daily Schmankerl and need YOUR help. If you read my man Tommy Adams’ piece about his experience with the FCBNYC Fan Club (if you haven’t, SHAME ON YOU!), you could see how great the event was. So we want to highlight some of these wonderful groups that are out there globally and this is what we need from you:

• Name of the group
• Location
• Year founded
• Leadership (if you have people are kind of running the show)
• Meeting place
• Social media handles
• Pictures

We want to be able to feature a different fan group every week this season. Maybe we can do it, maybe not...but only YOU can help decide the fate of this idea. Send your info to: barrelsportsblog@gmail.com