Daily Schmankerl: Real Madrid and Manchester City want Luka Jovic; Bayern Munich linked to Christian Eriksen; RB Leipzig wants Liverpool, PSG, and Dortmund to bid on Timo Werner; plus MORE!

Jovic still the apple of Madrid’s eye, but Man City is lurking (Marca)

Real Madrid is still hoping to land Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic in the worst way. Die Adler would like €70m for Jovic, while Los Blancos would like to swing a deal: 26-year-old striker Mariano and €55m to get Jovic wearing white.

The 21-year-old striker from Eintracht Frankfurt was chosen in the small casting call to hire a goal specialist which also included (Mauro) Icardi and (Krzysztof) Piatek. Madrid has not yet sat down to negotiate with the German club but know by Fali Ramadani, agent of Luka Jovic, that Eintracht is asking for €70 million for the revelation of the Bundesliga (27 goals and 7 assists). Among the good relations he maintains with the German club and that they have shown their interest in Mariano, he hopes to lower the figure to about €55 million. Jovic would come to be the usual replacement of (Karim) Benzema.

Meanwhile, per a report in the Daily Mail (as captured by the Münchner Merkur), Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are keeping a close on Jovic.

According to the Daily Mail, Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have joined in. Jovic had already been observed by the Sky Blues. However, they are aware that other top clubs are also on the line, including Real Madrid.

Mintzlaff tries to play up interest in Werner (Liverpool Echo)

RB Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff really is hoping another team jumps in to make a serious — and lucrative — offer for Timo Werner. With Bayern Munich and Timo Werner’s mutual admiration essentially the worst kept secret in Germany at this point, it may not even matter. Werner seems destined to be in Munich next season.

Specifically, Mintzlaff is grasping at straws trying to potentially use Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, and Borussia Dortmund as leverage.

Maybe he doesn’t even want to go to Munich. Maybe he would rather join Tuchel in Paris, Klopp at Liverpool or Favre at Dortmund.

De Ligt’s path to Barca seems clear (Metro)

Yesterday we featured a report stating that Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt’s agent was holding up the signing process with his fee requirements, but regardless of that, it appears that FC Barcelona has won the sweepstakes for a player who many expect to dominate Europe for the next decade or so.

There are a long list of suitors for De Ligt, though Esport3 and Catalunya Radio report that the 19-year-old has made it clear his wish is to wear the red and blue of Barcelona. A delegation of officials from the club met with De Ligt’s agent, Mino Raiola, in Monte Carlo in April and, while nothing was signed, a verbal agreement over a contract was reached.

De Ligt intends to honor that agreement and is excited by the prospect of moving to Barcelona, while he is also keen to play alongside Ajax teammate Frenkie de Jong, who secured his own move to Camp Nou in January. Although Liverpool, Bayern and Juve have all made inquiries recently, De Ligt’s clear preference is Barca and the Spanish champions could even announce his arrival in the next few days.

PSG wants Madrid trio (Daily Mail)

Paris Saint-Germain allegedly has some grandiose plans for this summer, including making a huge offer to procure the Real Madrid threesome of Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale, and Isco.

Paris Saint-Germain are preparing to blow their summer transfer budget on three Real Madrid players when the window reopens. According to French newspaper Le Parisien, the Ligue 1 champions are interested in bringing Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Isco to the Parc des Princes. They claim that PSG will offer around £180million (€207million) for the trio, who are all available if Real Madrid’s demands are met.

Given how all three players listed are said to be available, it makes Sunday’s story regarding Brazzo’s not-so-secret-anymore Madrid meeting a little more peculiar.

Juve ups the ante for Chiesa (Football Italia)

Juventus is trying to hard to land Fiorentina’s Federico Chiesa before Bayern and Inter Milan can get too close to the 21-year-old talent.

Juventus are reported to be offering €50m plus Riccardo Orsolini in a package deal for Fiorentina star Federico Chiesa. According to the newspaper Tuttosport, the Bianconeri have made the Italy international their number one transfer target, and sporting director Fabio Paratici is working hard on ways to reduce the €70m price tag.

Chiesa has also attracted interest from Inter and Bayern Munich, putting the Old Lady in a hurry to close the deal and offer €5m a year in wages to the 21-year-old. An offer of €50m plus Orsolini could be enough to convince the Tuscan club to part with their star. Orsolini is currently on loan at Bologna from Juve, and is shining under the tutelage of Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, scoring four times in his last eight matches.

Eriksen and Bayern linked again (Marca)

Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Eriksen has been linked to Los Blancos several times over the past year and is still allegedly one of Madrid’s primary targets, but perhaps Bayern is looking to swoop in out of nowhere Arya Stark-style.

(Real Madrid) were asked for 250 million when they asked about Christian Eriksen a year ago, but now they are confident of getting him signed by less than half. The Danish midfielder wants to play for Madrid but also handles Bayern’s interest.

Mbuyamba on Bayern’s radar (Inside Futbol)

Bayern, Chelsea, Celtic, Porto, and Liverpool are all keeping tabs on 17-year-old MVV Maastricht center back Xavier Mbuyamba.

Xavier Mbuyamba, who is attracting interest from Celtic, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, FC Porto and Liverpool, would have been happy to extend his stay at Dutch side MVV. (Agent Carlos) Barros is surprised that Dutch clubs have been so slow to note his client’s potential and availability, and admits that Chelsea’s offer is currently the most attractive; the defender will train with the Blues’ youth teams in the coming days. Heracles and FC Groningen want to keep him in the Netherlands.

Per our sister site, We Ain’t Got No History, Chelsea would still be able to bring Mbuyamba despite its FIFA-enforced transfer ban as the talented youngster is still considered a youth player. Despite the penalty, Chelsea does not have any transfer restrictions regarding youth players.

Schulz to BVB appears done (Bild)

As previously reported, it looks like Hoffenheim left back and Germany international Nico Schulz make the move to Borussia Dortmund per a story behind the Bild+ paywall. it would be a four-year deal for Schulz with a €25m fee to Hoffenheim (which seems a little low).

Pretty cool send off for van Persie (@ESPNFC)

Playing for Feyenoord, Robin Van Persie was given a great on-field send-off as he heads into retirement.