Daily Schmankerl: Bayern to offer Alaba + cash for Sané, Chelsea interested in Neuer, Lazio defender on Bayern’s radar, Lewy in goal, and more!

Man City to sell Sané for Alaba plus £50 (The Sun)

Lo and behold a Sun exclusive story! Now, I usually say the best exclusives are the ones you make up, but one published by The Sun is almost as good. They come on strong with one hell of a lede:

MANCHESTER CITY are set to be offered David Alaba as a makeweight for Leroy Sane by Bayern Munich this summer.

Goodness, I love it when I’m “set to be offered” anything! Anyway, they regurgitate Bayern’s interest in Sané, etc. etc., and here is the crux of the article:

And the German club are believed to be happy to offer around £50m in cash AND the defender as part of a deal.

Wow. That’s pretty wild. The Sun seems to deduce that number from the fact that an “Etihad source” (no, this is not a James Bond movie) says Sané “is not for sale,” before adding, “We are sticking to our valuation over Leroy though. It would have to be a huge offer to even contemplate a move.”

Hence, if Sané costs €130 or thereabouts, one Alaba is simply not enough. Transfermarkt puts his value at €65.6m, so one Alaba plus £50m (currently = €55.3m) would come to about €120m. A deal for sure...

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UPDATE:

This particular rumor annoyed Christian Falk so much he offered a three-part refutation:

Frank Lampard’s Chelsea interested in Manuel Neuer (Bild)

When Manuel Neuer’s agent was spotted at Säbener Strasse, it emerged that Bayern Munich still has not made progress on the one contract extension the front office wanted to fast-track. Now Bild claims that “it currently looks very questionable whether Neuer and Bayern can reach an agreement in negotiations about a new contract.” According to Bild, “Neuer is asking for a long contract; the total package, however, seems much to large to Bayern.”

Bild explores where Neuer hypothetically might transfer, if he were to leave Bayern. The good news is that none of the top clubs in the four other major leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A) are in need of a keeper. The only real candidate is Bayern’s Champions League competitor this season: FC Chelsea.

Chelsea obviously has a serious problem on its hands, since Coach Frank Lampard benched their record-breaking signing Kepa Arrizabalaga. Bild says they have information that Chelsea is very interested in Neuer.

Chelsea was in fourth place in the Premier League when the season was suspended, but they are only three points ahead of Manchester United (48 vs 45) in fifth place, and five points ahead of sixth and seventh-place. It is doubtful how attractive Chelsea could be for Neuer were they to slip out of contention for the Champions League next season.

Oh, and in case you missed it, someone seriously wrote that Bayern is “desperate” to bring Marc-André ter Stegen to Munich. Yeah.

Bayern Munich scouting Ruiz Felipe (La Lazio siamo noi)

In a report about Lazio’s Ruiz Felipe, the Lazio-focused publication notes that Bayern Munich has joined FC Barcelona in considering Ruiz Felipe as a potential signing this summer. Felipe would reinforce Bayern’s “Achilles’ heel,” as they put it. He fits the profile of the players Bayern is targeting: “young and talented players who can guarantee technical continuity to the club over time.”

Bayern has definite interest, but has not started any negotiations as yet. Lazio may attempt to extend Felipe’s contract. His current agreement expires in 2022.

FIFA plans to move transfer window (Reuters)

Reuters reports that FIFA is planning to extend “current contracts for players and coaches ... until the end of the delayed domestic soccer seasons. Reuters adds,

The confidential document, seen by Reuters, also recommends allowing transfer windows to be changed in accordance with new season dates and urges clubs and players to work together to find solutions to salary payments during stoppages.

The document is due to be discussed by members of FIFA’s Working Group later on Thursday. No decision on the issues has yet been taken by FIFA.

Should FIFA follow through on the plan, that will give Bayern Munich added time to settle ongoing contract negotiations. It would also add a twist to the talks with Neuer mentioned above.

Basti drops in on Bayern’s cyber-training

Lewandowski moves into goal

Schi- Schi- Schiedsrichter! Davies learns German

Sven got game

Hennes fathers two kids!

Barca forces pay-cut on team and entire staff (ESPN)

Bayern Munich — players, executive board, and supervisory board — quickly reached a decision to take a 20 percent pay-cut across the board to provide for the over 1,000 employees of the club. Things are not so tranquil at that other FCB.

FC Barcelona announced that the wages of all its staff, including the players, will be cut as the club tries to navigate the financial difficulties caused by the sudden evaporation of revenue.

After failing to reach an agreement with their players, the club announced they would resort to a provision of Spanish labor law to impose a pay-cut on the players after they rejected the club’s original proposal. ESPN writes,

Barca were hopeful the players would agree to take a wage cut without having to revert to labour legislation. Talks between the first team’s captains and the board of directors failed to yield an agreement, though, with sources telling ESPN the players rejected a proposal that would have seen them lose 70% of their wages.

The players are reportedly willing to take a less drastic cut, and there is still some hope Barca might reach a deal with them.

Some sweet goalkeeper passes for your viewing pleasure (Michael Bolvin)

Michael is a junior from Düsseldorf who plays for Queens College in New York.

Abdelhak Nouri wakes up after two years in a coma!