Daily Schmankerl: Luka Jovic’s rumored move to Real Madrid looking more likely; Bayern Munich scoping Ozan Kabak; and MORE!

Jovic move to Madrid seems like a matter of time (The Sun)

It looks like Eintracht Frankfurt star Luka Jovic’s rumored move to Real Madrid is getting close to being made official:

Luka Jovic has reportedly cleared out his Eintracht Frankfurt locker in preparation for a summer move to Real Madrid. He attracted attention from Chelsea and enhanced his profile after scoring in both Europa League semi-final legs against the Blues.

It was reported the Serbian powerhouse had agreed a £52.4million to Madrid and will be paid £8.7m a season. German outlet Bild report the striker has cleared out his Frankfurt locker ahead of a summer holiday and has no intention of returning, instead focusing on his La Liga switch. Frankfurt will bag £42m of the fee, with £10m going to Jovic’s previous club Benfica as a result of their 20 percent sell-on clause. Zinedine Zidane views Jovic as the ideal long-term replacement for Karim Benzema.

Jovic’s sensational season and ties to Niko Kovac made him an attractive piece to Bayern Munich, but it seems as if the Bavarians have opted to go in a different direction, while Los Blancos seem eager to bring in Jovic to challenge Karim Benzema.

While the move to Real Madrid has been rumored in the media for weeks now, neither club has made an official announcement.

Die Mannschaft releases jersey numbers (@DFB_Team_EN)

Kabak on Bayern’s radar? (Daily Mail)

The fallout from VfB Stuttgart’s relegation might be starting. 19-year-old center back Ozan Kabak is drawing a lot of suitors, who might be eager to activate his €14.8m release clause including Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United . . . and Bayern Munich.

Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United have rekindled interest in Stuttgart center back Ozan Kabak following his club’s relegation from the Bundesliga. The Premier League trio were among the clubs following Turkish talent Kabak while he played for Galatasaray last year, prior to joining Stuttgart for £9.9million in January. They have kept a watching brief on his progress but are also aware that Bayern Munich have been following the stylish 19-year-old who has a release clause of £13.2m.

For what it is worth, I found Kabak to be talented, but he lacks some polish and discipline. I’m not sure he’s quite Bayern quality as of yet, but he could get there at some point. He’s still only 19. I just could not see him getting playing time at Bayern any time soon considering the talent that will be at center-back in Bavaria next season.

Kahn attends Harvard class with other celebs (Boston.com)

Former Bayern Munich goalkeeper and future front office member Oliver Kahn took a class at Harvard under professor Anita Elberse, titled “The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports.” Per Boston.com, the class “regularly brings A-listers to Cambridge to learn new approaches for driving revenue and success in today’s entertainment environment.”

Pretty cool, right? Kahn’s classmates were pretty well-known:

• Grammy-winning singer Ciara
• Husband and wife stars of HGTV series “Fixer Upper” Chip and Joanna Gaines
• NCIS: Los Angeles actor Eric Christian Olsen
• Cleveland Cavaliers power forward and NBA champion Kevin Love
• Los Angeles Clippers small forward and Cameroonian prince Luc Mbah a Moute
• New Orleans Pelicans power forward Julius Randle
• Former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill

Some other big names who have taken the class in the past include actors Channing Tatum and Katie Holmes, rapper/actor LL Cool J, former Miami Heat teammates Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.

In what might seem like a shock . . . NO Bavarian Football Works staff members have ever been invited to this class for A-listers.

Young German defender opts to represent the U.S. (AS)

Union Berlin center back Lennard Maloney, who holds dual German-American citizenship (his father is American and his mother is German) and joined the Union Berlin Academy at age 13, is thinking about an international career with the United States. This season he moved up to Union Berlin’s U-19 team and made 23 appearances, but he is now pondering his international future.

Maloney, who represented Germany at the U-18 and U-19 levels, has seemingly opted for a change:

Playing for the United States is one of my greatest dreams. Of course, it’s also nice to play for Germany. But deep inside my heart, I really want to play for the USA. I don’t know why; this feeling is just there.

Man...the Premier League is going to be crazy (@MailSport)

This sounds like some Game of Thrones action: