Daily Schmankerl: Eden Hazard on Bayern’s wish list?; Juventus wants James Rodriguez; Hertha’s Arne Maier is popular; and MORE!

British journalist claims Bayern Munich among the club vying for Eden Hazard (The Sport Review)

Bayern Munich is allegedly going to make a big splash in next summer’s transfer window. One way to do that would be to start getting into the mix for an established superstar.

Enter Chelsea man, Eden Hazard.

Eden Hazard is attracting interest from FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid ahead of next summer, reporter Ian McGarry has claimed. The Belgium international was linked with a move to the Champions League holders in the summer transfer window. However, Hazard remained at Stamford Bridge following Zinedine Zidane’s departure at Real Madrid.

Daily Record journalist McGarry confirmed that FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are keeping tabs on Hazard. “My information is one of the reasons why he is so calm is because he has concrete interest, if not offers, from three of Europe’s biggest clubs – Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid – for the season after this,” McGarry told the Transfer Window podcast. “He may well choose one of those elite clubs to transfer to. The contract situation being what it is, Chelsea will be forced into the same situation as Courtois.”

Hazard’s versatility, creativity, and scoring ability would all be welcome additions to any lineup, including Die Roten. It will be interesting to see if this rumor holds any water when the bidding on Hazard begins. The deep pockets of Barcelona and Real Madrid will surely make Hazard a “tough get” if those two clubs are, indeed, also in heavy pursuit of the Belgian star.

Juventus has James Rodriguez among the players it wants to bring in (Calciomercato)

As James continues to turn in good performances, we’ll inevitably start seeing more of these rumors:

Juventus does not lose sight of the transfer market: among the names marked ‘in red’ on the notebook of Beppe Marotta and Fabio Paratici stand out 3 that in the last hours have put on show with their respective teams, namely James Rodriguez, Paul Pogba and Federico Chiesa.

The international media will surely have a field day with the recent - yet, maybe not factual - rumblings that James has been unhappy with his spot on the roster.

Everyone is pushing Mario Götze to Liverpool, but is that good thing? (Sky Sports)

I think nearly everyone wants to see Mario Götze turn his career around, but a move to Liverpool may not help reach that end goal. Sure, Jürgen Klopp is the type of coach to help rebuild a player’s confidence and that environment would allow Götze the freedom to create offense, but would he ever get on the field?

Former Borussia Dortmund defender Kevin Grosskreutz says Mario Götze should consider a move abroad in January, with Liverpool touted as a possible destination for the midfielder. Götze, once viewed as the poster boy of German football after scoring the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final, has largely struggled since rejoining Dortmund from Bayern Munich in 2016.

The 26-year-old has made just two first-team appearances for the club this season and was left out of the squad to face Hoffenheim on Saturday after a lackluster performance against Club Brugge in the Europa League.

I still think Götze might be best served with a move to Schalke or another team in search of a quality attacking midfielder within the Bundesliga where he can get time on the field. Liverpool would likely just see Götze mired on the bench - only in England instead of Germany.

Hertha Berlin’s “new Toni Kroos”, Arne Maier, is drawing attention from world heavyweights (The Mirror)

Hertha Berlin’s Arne Maier is opening some eyes with his work in the central midfield for Die Alte Dame. The 19-year old German prodigy is supposedly being looked at Manchester United, Arsenal, and Juventus among others.

Central midfielder, Maier, is just 19 but already an Under-21 international — and has been described in Germany as the new Toni Kroos. He already holds the record as Hertha’s youngest ever debutant, aged 17 years and 103 days, and is now becoming a Bundesliga regular. The Old Trafford giants and the Gunners have sent scouts to see him in action, and now Italian champions Juve have followed suit. The teenager has a contract until 2022, with a reported release clause of £10million if a club from one of the big leagues shows interest. However, it may not be as easy as it seems to prise him away in the January window. A source at Hertha insisted: “Arne will not leave this season.”

Maier has made five appearance for Hertha Berlin this season between the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal, working mostly in a defensive midfield role. Will Bayern’s “MOAR MIDFIELDERS” philosophy eventually push them into the running for the German talent?

Alphonso Davies with another good effort for the Whitecaps (@WhitecapsFC)

The Canadian prodigy sent over a nice cross for Kei Kamara to finish.

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

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

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 have 7 clubs on board so far. I’d LOVE 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.