Daily Schmankerl: Timo Werner warned about potential Liverpool move; Bayern interested in RB Leipzig defender; and Robert Lewandowski’s Polish reign ends!

Werner warned about potential move to the Premier League (Daily Mirror)

According to Ralf Rangnick, RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner may want to reconsider any thought about a potential move to Liverpool.

Timo Werner has been warned against joining Liverpool because of the ‘struggles’ of Naby Keita since he moved to Anfield. Germany forward Werner, 22, has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of his former RB Leipzig teammate and make the switch to Merseyside in the summer.And Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick says Werner must be wary of joining him in England.

Rangnick, RB Leipzig’s sporting director/coach, used Keita’s struggles in England a direct example of why Werner should think closely about a potential move to the Premier League.

Keita was an outstanding player here, but he’s still struggling in Liverpool. So far, he’s not the player there that he was here. The surroundings must be right for Timo. That’s the case here.

Rangnick then detailed where his club is with Werner in terms of negotiating a new deal. Werner’s current contract expires in the summer of 2020.

We have gone to our financial limits with our offer. We know that he can earn more elsewhere, but he can also provide for himself for the rest of his life here. Financial aspects will not be the decisive factor, but rather the sporting perspective. We’re trying to keep him. He knows he’s very popular in the team, with the coach and the fans. He’s a top player, and he has become one of the most exciting Bundesliga strikers in the country. He still has one-and-a-half years left of his contract, and I hope that he’ll stay. But in the end, it’s up to him.

Report: Bayern has interest in RB Leipzig defender (Sport.de)

Bayern Munich reportedly has a back-up plan should its pursuit of Atletico Madrid defender and France World Cup winner Lucas Hernandez fall through. In fact, the Bavarians would seek to bring in one of Herndandez’s countrymen, Dayot Upamecano, who is currently featuring for RB Leipzig.

The initially intended winter transfers of Lucas Hernández and Callum Hudson-Odoi to Bundesliga club Bayern Munich have not happened. Now the record champion apparently has new plans for the summer.

Although CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge already hinted that the Munich would like to make a second attempt in the summer, the record champions have a plan B for defense. If Bayern cannot secure Atleti defender Hernández, they apparently are considering Dayot Upamecano of RB Leipzig as an alternative, as reported by TZ. In contrast to the Atlético star, who can also play as a left-back, Upamecano can only play central defense.

In December, Calciomercato reported that the Leipzig youngster is the German record champion’s list. Most recently, the Frenchman was also linked to a transfer to the Premier League. Former coach Ralph Hasenhüttl is supposedly luring the 20-year-old to FC Southampton. According to the Italian report, however, RB Leipzig is asking for a transfer fee of €33 million for the regular player, who is still tied to the Saxons until 2021.

Lewandowski’s reign as Polish Footballer of the Year is over (whufc.com)

Robert Lewandowski’s stronghold on the position of Polish Footballer of the Year is over. West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has usurped the throne, although we are pretty sure he didn’t have to strike Lewandowski with a battle axe at the Trident to make it happen.

Lukasz Fabianski has landed a prestigious Polish award, being named Pilka Nozna’s Footballer of the Year. Pilka Nozna is Poland’s oldest and biggest weekly football magazine, and they selected Fabianski as Poland’s best performer over the last 12 months. Fabianski ends a run of seven straight titles for Robert Lewandowski and earns the trophy after a stellar year for Swansea City, the Hammers and the Polish national team, who he represented in Russia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and in the UEFA Nations League.

(I purposely forced that Game of Thrones reference in there and may mercifully end the streak at three days. Today’s news wasn’t conducive to a good reference, but “Folly and desperation are ofttimes hard to tell apart.”)

We all needed to see the full kit (@Mainz05en)

As Ineednoname has mentioned, Mainz has gone full “Twister” game board on us, but I am on board with this.