Daily Schmankerl: Manchester City scoping Schalke’s Sebastian Rudy; James Rodriguez’s camp shoots down rumors; and MORE!

City eyes move for former Bayern midfielder (The Sun)

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Rudy is now suiting up for Schalke, but he has reportedly drawn the interest of at least one ex-Bayern coach.

Carlo Ancelotti perhaps? Well, nope. None other than Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is allegedly looking to bring in the former Hoffenheim man and Germany international.

MANCHESTER CITY may make a surprise loan move for Schalke star Sebastian Rudy. Boss Pep Guardiola wants cover for midfielder Fernandinho — the only real gap in his squad — and has been making checks ahead of a shock deal for the German. Guardiola knows Rudy well from his time in Germany.

He was an unsung hero at Hoffenheim before moving to Bayern Munich. But Rudy has struggled for form at Schalke and they may be open to a short-term loan if there is a fee involved. City are looking into an emergency solution as none of the top-class Fernandinho replacements are currently available.

James’ advisors kill transfer rumors for the winter (ESPN FC)

With Arsenal and Napoli kicking the tires on James Rodriguez, the Colombian midfielder’s camp sought out to dispel those rumors and leak that James is not looking for a move now — and maybe not even this summer.

James Rodriguez is staying at Bayern Munich until the end of the season “at least,” sources close to the player have told ESPN FC, with a decision to be made about the future of the reported Napoli and Arsenal target. James has six months left on a two-year loan from Real Madrid, although the 27-year-old has not always been a regular starter since Niko Kovac took over as Bayern coach last summer.

This led to speculation in the British and Italian press that clubs including Arsenal and Napoli were looking to take advantage of the situation and offer a short term exit as soon as January. However, sources in James’ camp have confirmed to ESPN FC that he will stay at Bayern for the remainder of his loan deal, with the possibility he would remain in Bavaria for 2019-20 and beyond.

Bayern youth teams have a good weekend (FCBayern.com)

Bayern’s website has a great roundup for all of its youth teams here. It’s in German, but Google translate can give you the gist of how the teams fared.

2017-2018 was good for Bayern even if it only won one title (@andreasartori94)

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.