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Liverpool fears Werner wants Bayern (Daily Star)
Liverpool and Bayern Munich may not just be Champions League foes. The super clubs are reportedly set to do battle over RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner.
Werner, 22, has previously been linked with an £88m move to Anfield and has spoken favourably about the Premier League. The striker has been offered new terms by Leipzig but seems in no rush to commit his future to the Bundesliga outfit. Leipzig are desperate to convince Werner to extend his deal which has 18 months left to run.
They report that he will make a decision when the Bundesliga season ends in May. The news is likely to interest Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp who is a known admirer of Werner. German outlet Abendzeitung reported that Anfield scouts were in attendance to watch Werner as Leipzig beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 in December.
But Liverpool will face serious competition from Bavarian giants Bayern Munich should Werner chose to end his two-and-a-half year spell at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena. With Werner’s contract running down, Bild claim that a deal could be struck for around £36m. Bayern traditionally hoover up the most promising young German talent and have their eye on Leipzig’s star man.
The wildly different financial figures are interesting. Werner’s potential move to Liverpool was reported at €97m (£88m), while a transfer sale to Bayern would only amount to €40m (£36m). One seems exceptionally high, while the other seems a bit a low. As always, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
Maurizio Sarri gives Callum Hudson-Odoi analysis (Metro)
Chelsea’s coach gave his assessment of what Callum Hudson-Odoi needs to work on to take his game to the next level.
He’s a very good player, the potential is for becoming a great player, and now he has to improve. He has to improve, I think, in movement without the ball. As a winger, he has to improve in the defensive phase, but he has the potential to become a very important player, not only for English football I think but for European football.
With the news breaking yesterday that Chelsea upped its selling price to €44m, it is unclear if Bayern will proceed with another attempt at procuring Hudson-Odoi.
Chelsea disappointed in Lewandowski’s commitment to Bayern (Daily Express)
After a tumultuous 2017-2018 season that led to great uncertainty, Robert Lewandowski pledged his allegiance to Bayern earlier in the week. Based on his statements, it would seem as if the Polish Hitman will at least play out his contract through 2021.
That news has left Chelsea a bit disappointed.
Although 30 years old, he remains of interest to Chelsea, who would have to lure him away from a contract that ties him to the German champions until 2021. Those hopes have been dealt a blow just as the window opens, however, as Lewandowski has revealed his ambition to stay at the Allianz Arena. Speaking to German newspaper Sport Bild, the striker said: “For me, it’s definitely an option to end my career at Bayern.”
Juventus to pursue James and Isco (Calciomercato)
The Old Lady is reportedly going to make a move on both Bayern’s James Rodriguez and Real Madrid’s Isco.
Serie A giants Juventus are reportedly in the race to sign both James Rodriguez and Isco and seem optimistic about signing at least one of them either in January or next summer.
Rodriguez is set to not extend his stay at Bayern Munich beyond his two-year loan deal at the club, meaning he will return to Real Madrid. Following that, he is expected to leave the Los Blancos.
As previously reported, representatives from Juventus will be in Dubai at the same time as James and his agent, Jorge Mendes.
Napoli regrets missing on Tolisso (Football Italia)
Things could have worked out differently for Corentin Tolisso if he had wanted to leave France a year earlier.
Napoli sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli admits his ‘biggest regret’ is not signing Corentin Tolisso in the summer of 2016. Napoli were heavily linked with a €26m swoop for Tolisso, but the France midfielder ended up staying at Lyon for one more season and joined Bayern Munich the following year.
Giuntoli went on to say:
My biggest regret? We’d closed a deal for Tolisso, who only had to undergo a medical, but Lyon qualified for the Champions League that year and the player preferred to stay in France. It was a shame as he went to Bayern Munich the following year.