Daily Schmankerl: Lucas Hernandez regrets not going to Real Madrid, Coutinho to Newcastle, Gotze to Milan, and MORE!

Lucas Hernandez regrets not transferring to Real Madrid (Don Balon)

Real Madrid was seriously considering buying Lucas Hernandez last summer, but after seeing how his brother Theo fared in white, Lucas decided to go to Bayern instead. Alas, his season has not gone as planned.

The Don reports:

Injuries have prevented him from shining and enjoying continuity, and he has been able to play only 14 games in all competitions this season. In addition, he has encountered a somewhat wobbly sports project, which cost Niko Kovac his dismissal mid-course. Lucas already regrets not having stayed in Spain and having signed for Madrid.

And so he has made it known to Florentino Pérez, showing deep regret.

Forgive me if I say this is perhaps not the Don’s most credible work. But even he says it’s “no use”: Hernandez is under contract with Bayern until 2024, and “it is already known that [Bayern] doesn’t negotiate for its stars.”

No kidding.

Coutinho to Newcastle (Mirror)

You may have heard that Newcastle United may soon be bought by a “Saudi Arabian investment fund.” They and their American competitors for buying the club supposedly want to hire former Tottenham Hotspur coach Mauricio Pochettino.

That could be an opportunity for Coutinho, who will presumably transfer out of Barcelona after he returns from his loan to Bayern Munich.

Coutinho’s agent has said he’d love to come back to the Premier League, and Newcastle might have the money to spend on him if their new owner (whoever it is) wants to make a splash. Pochettino supposedly wanted Coutinho last season.

Mario Götze to AC Milan? (Calciomercato)

Things are not looking so good for Götze in Germany. Currently finding himself behind Marco Reus and Julian Brandt in the pecking order, Calciomercato claims that he “dreams of a transfer to Italy”.

AC Milan chief executive Ivan Gazidis reportedly has his sights set on the German international, and is prompting the board to make a move for the forward. Ralf Rangnick, Milan’s number one candidate for the managerial role next season, is also a huge admirer of the German international.

This marriage between a player who has fallen out of favor and a club written off as well past its days of glory could be accelerated by the fact that Götze’s wife, model Ann-Kathrin has many working relationships in Italy, Milan and Rome in particular. This transfer, although quite unlikely, could be a breath of fresh air in Götze’s late career.

Several Premier League clubs want relegation scrapped (DailyMail)

According to reports, several bottom-table EPL clubs are supposedly planning to veto out Project Restart, the EPL’s project to restart fixtures. The project requires at least 14 clubs to vote in favour of the proposition in order to resume normal fixtures, but as of right now, 13 clubs are in favour, 6 clubs against while one remains undecided.

The EPL federation, as well as the top 3-5 clubs are trying hard to convince the others of the merits of a season resumption. If this situation persists, the EPL may be looking at the season getting called off, which will ironically be worse for the said teams as they will lose millions in TV and sponsorship revenue.

Ronald Koeman admitted to hospital with heart problems (football-oranje)

Netherlands manager and Barcelona legend Koeman has been admitted to a hospital in Amsterdam to undergo cardiac catheterisation, after experiencing some heart problems. The 57 year old is believed to be stable due to quick intervention and emergency healthcare, and we at BFW wish him a speedy recovery!