Daily Schmankerl: Chelsea and Tottenham want Mats Hummels; Manchester City and Bayern battling over Frenkie de Jong; plus MORE!

Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur want Mats Hummels in January (Metro)

Earlier today, we posted Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s statements that Mats Hummels will be staying with Bayern Munich. Even that would never stop the British press from throwing gasoline on to a burgeoning transfer fire.

The Metro is linking Hummels to Premier League powers Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

Chelsea have held talks with Mats Hummels’ agent over a potential deal for the Bayern Munich defender in the January transfer window, according to reports. The 30-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at Bayern and is currently considered third choice Jerome Boateng and Niklas Sule. Bild reports that Hummels is unhappy at Bayern and is aiming to leaving in the upcoming transfer window.

The Germany international’s agent, Marc Kosicke, reportedly traveled to London and held talks with Chelsea and Tottenham. Hummels, who turned 30 last week, has just over two years remaining on his current deal with Bayern.

If you missed our post with Rummenigge’s statements, check it out here.

Manchester City and Bayern battling over Frenkie de Jong (Daily Mail)

The ties between between Bayern and Pep Guardiola continue to show. As of today (this will change 948,920 times by next week), Manchester City is considered Bayern’s primary competition to land Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

Bayern Munich are rivaling Manchester City in the £70million scramble for Ajax’s Frenkie de Jong. Pep Guardiola has ruled out making any signings next month but a central midfielder is at the top of his agenda for next summer.

The City manager is a huge admirer of de Jong, whose classy displays for Ajax and Holland have drawn attention from a host of the continent’s elite. Bayern are the latest to register interest in the 21-year-old, who wants to see out the season at Ajax. Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars suggested on Wednesday Barcelona are favorites to land him and de Jong is known to possess a desire to one day play in Spain.

It is believed, however, that the Catalans are more focused on their attempts to sign his teammate Matthijs de Ligt, the teenage central defender. Paris Saint-Germain were claimed to have been close to striking a deal for de Jong but Guardiola believes City remain right in the mix to land him.

As referenced above, however, de Jong was rumored to have already reached an agreement with PSG. How this all shakes out between now and next summer will be very interesting as there is some serious financial weight about to be thrown around.

Die Folgen: Bayern’s tight 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern earned a hard-fought victory over a very game RB Leipzig side. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• It was described as ugly a few times, but the game was exactly what Bayern needed. Leipzig ramped up its game plan, put it on steroids, and pressed Bayern at every opportunity. Bayern’s style needed this type of “in your face” opponent (especially give Bayern’s upcoming Champions League challenge) as an example of how to adjust against such a heavy press.
• Franck Ribery’s goal was nothing short of outstanding...pure class.

• Mats Hummels took a lot of hits on the FOX broadcast, but I thought he was solid. This was an especially important game for him considering how Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen ran his mouth prior to the match regarding Hummels’ lack of pace.
• I’m okay with the offense yesterday. There were a couple of chances that should have been finished, but Leipzig made it a point to muck the game up and make Bayern uncomfortable. We shouldn’t look past that this is exactly the type of game Bayern would have lost six weeks ago.
• There was no better celebration than Manuel Neuer’s yesterday:

• Thomas Müller went full Frank the Tank after the game:

I can’t help substituting Müller for good old Frank Ricard here:

If you missed our Match Awards or Observations, give them a look at the links below:

ICYMI: FC Groningen’s sales effort to bring back Robben is awesome (Bavarian Football Works)

This nugget about the local community in FC Groningen taking any means necessary (Turnip Trucks!) to bring Arjen Robben back to his home club is great. In the world of sports there are A LOT of bad stories and a lot of trash, but this one is a feel good story that is worth your time.

Looking to catch-up on the Bundesliga action from the midweek match day? I’ve got you covered (The Barrel)

For a capsule-style recap of the Bundesliga’s midweek fixtures, just click here.