Los Blancos to swoop in and steal Werner? (Don Balon)
It’s been a while my old friend, but Don Balon is back in the Daily Schmankerl.
And The Don is back with a bang.
Real Madrid (read Zinedine Zidane) is reportedly unhappy with the progress being made by former Eintracht Frankfurt standout and Serbia international Luka Jovic. In order to rectify that situation, Los Blancos is planning to loan out Jovic and make an attempt to lure RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner to Spain.
This assessment of Jovic from Don Balon is quite severe:
The Serbian is still very ‘green’ and in each training he shows that. Today, he does not have enough level to play at the Santiago Bernabéu. And in the games he has played to date, he has gone completely unnoticed and has contributed absolutely nothing.
So, where does Real Madrid go from here? Apparently to East Germany:
In Chamartín (Madrid), they would have another ‘9’ in mind. We talked about Timo Werner, who has been on the agenda since he broke into the first team of Stuttgart, when he was only 17. Now 23, he has a great experience behind him and is considered as one of the best scorers in the Bundesliga, in addition to being a starter selection for Germany.
The German wants to leave RB Leipzig, with which he has a contract until 2020 and refuses to renew. Therefore, they must sell him in these last 15 days of the market if they do not want to lose him for free. Its price, therefore, would be around 40 million, a bargain. But Bayern Munich is also willing to make war on the auction to seize his services.
So what happens with Jovic? Believe it or not (probably not), Real Madrid is allegedly talking to both Eintracht Frankfurt and...Borussia Dortmund as potential destinations for a loan spell per The Don.
Die Adler seems like a perfectly reasonable destination for Jovic, but I suppose that BVB does actually have a pretty solid relationship with Real Madrid as well (Achraf Hakimi is on loan at Dortmund from Madrid). Could The Don be (gasp!) in the business of submitting legitimate reports? Stay tuned.
Bayern vs. Hertha: A prediction (Bavarian Football Works)
And so it begins.
The Bundesliga season opener is finally upon us and after months of transfer-related ups and downs, Bayern Munich is finally ready for its league opener against a pesky Hertha Berlin side.
The strategy at play in this one is likely not hard to figure out for Die Alte Dame. Hertha Berlin is likely to crowd the box and make things congested for Robert Lewandowski, while forming a protective shield aimed to keep Bayern’s explosive wings Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry pinned to the sidelines. From there, I think it’s safe to assume that Hertha Berlin will be looking to hit a home run on the counter-attack with either Dodi Lukebakio, Salomon Kalou, or Vedad Ibisevic.
For Bayern to prevent that from happening, it just has to be Bayern. It sounds overly simplistic, but it’s true. The Bavarians are far more talented, top-to-bottom, but they will need to establish a strong counter-attack of their own and do whatever is necessary to get out to an early lead. The sooner Bayern can put Hertha Berlin in a hole, the more likely Die Alte Dame will be to leave its bus parked on the sideline rather than in the box.
Because of how the players were used in the preseason, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how Niko Kovac will align his troops — both in personnel and in formation. Regardless, we are banking on Bayern just being better and imposing its will on Hertha Berlin, rather than the other way around.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3, Hertha Berlin 1 (yup, I’m trolling you with that scoreline...3-1 for EVERYONE!)
Agent: Perisic was not out of favor with Conte (Calciomercato)
The agent for Ivan Perisic, Frane Jurcevic, had much to say about the forward’s exit from Inter Milan. There were some rumblings that Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte essentially chased Perisic out of town because he did not see the 30-year-old as a fit, but Jurcevic said that was not the case:
Conte was surprised when Ivan told him he would leave. It went exactly like this: after it was reported in the media that he no longer counted on him, Conte approached Ivan in training and told him that he was angry with these journalists who had written this nonsense. The arrival of Bayern changed everything; this is the truth.
When asked about a possible return to Italy, Jurcevic didn’t rule that out after Perisic’s loan to Bayern Munich has expired:
Perisic is very, very happy, Bayern is the best club for him. Ivan is more than satisfied with the club and everything. Even Inter is exceptional, but this is another step forward. Back to Inter? Never say never, but I can’t answer that. The farewell was friendly.
Try not to run straight for the cyanide after watching this! (@dw_sports)
Why can't #FCBayern sign elite players anymore? pic.twitter.com/RhD0G9WFa2
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) August 15, 2019
Max on the move? (kicker)
FC Augsburg Philipp Max has been linked to several different teams this offseason, including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Borussia Mönchengladbach. It looks as if we can add at least two more teams to that mix in Schalke 04 and Atalanta:
Philipp Max (25) wants to leave the FC Augsburg, but the transfer fee of 20 million euros by FCA, however, is not realistic. The Fuggerstädter have now signaled readiness for a loan, and Champions League participant Atalanta Bergamo is working hard on a commitment of offensive left-back, who is under contract in Augsburg until 2022. Also, according to kicker information, FC Schalke is interested but not quite agreed.
Ünder extends deal in Rome (@cengizunder)
AS Roma winger Cengiz Ünder was linked to Bayern Munich several times in recent months, but ultimately opted to extend his deal in Italy through the 2022-2023 season.
Sono arrivato a Roma due anni fa e da allora, giorno dopo giorno, mi sono affezionato sempre di più a questa città, a questi colori e a questi tifosi. pic.twitter.com/VnAYVvmDbr
— Cengiz Ünder (@cengizunder) August 15, 2019
Zidane throwing a hissy fit over Pogba (The Independent)
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is reportedly unraveling over the club’s inability to land Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba. In fact, The Independent insinuates that Zidane could once again leave the Los Blancos bench over his frustration:
Real Madrid’s inability, or unwillingness, to make a serious effort to sign Paul Pogba this summer points to big differences between coach Zinedine Zidane and president Florentino Perez. And it spells serious trouble for the former Galactico’s second spell on the Bernabeu bench. One of the Madrid press pack’s closest observers of Bernabeu intrigue is Diego Torres of El Pais, who told The Independent that Zidane is furious with his boss.
“Not signing Pogba puts Zidane on the brink of resigning,” Torres says. “Zidane personally promised Pogba he would bring him to Madrid, and now he is left looking bad. This has only increased the lack of confidence between Zidane and Florentino. For Zidane, his project and Pogba are almost the same thing. Nothing that he was promised has really come to pass. Zidane returned as a protective shield for Florentino, but he has already fulfilled that political and social mission.”
An interesting part of the report was also that Manchester United scoffed at an offer of James Rodriguez plus €30 million for Pogba. The fall of James from 2014 Golden Boot winner to 2019 “throw-in to any multi-player + cash slop deal” is pretty traumatic.
Bale wants to stay in Madrid despite the fact Zidane would drive him out of town (The Express)
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale cannot win and also cannot find a suitable (to him) team to take him on:
Gareth Bale is reportedly angry with Real Madrid, who have offered him as bait in a deal for Neymar. That’s according to Catalan newspaper Sport, after the La Liga giants lodged an offer of £93 million for the Brazilian plus Bale and Rodriguez. He considers his treatment after all he’s achieved for the club as ‘inappropriate.’ The Welshman wants to stay put in the Spanish capital, but Zidane is doing everything possible to drive him out of the club.
With time ticking away, perhaps Real Madrid will finally see fit that it’s better to eat some money and let Bale walk away rather than deal with even more of a distraction.
Looking for some weekly Bundesliga predictions? I’ve got you covered (The Barrel)
If you are looking to kill some time this morning and want a brief preview on each Bundesliga match (along with some predictions that will most likely go up in flames quickly), I’ve got you covered here.