Daily Schmankerl: Chelsea to offload six players to buy Kai Havertz, Ralf Rangnick moves to AC Milan, Mandzukic free agent

Chelsea shipping off six players to buy one Havertz (Bild)

A report by The Sun corroborated by Bild claims that Chelsea intends to ship off six players to fill its transfer war chest. The players in question are:

• Michy Batshuayi: 26, striker, valued at €17.5m
• Marcos Alonso: 29, left-back, €20m
• Danny Drinkwater: 30, central midfield, €4.8m
• Tiemoué Bakayoko: 25, defensive mid, €25.5m
• Kenedy: 24, left midfield, €9.5m
• Emerson Palmieri: 25, left-back, €25m

Hypothetically speaking, if Chelsea sold all of them at market value, that would bring in €102.3m, just enough to buy Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen, who had held fast to their €100m price tag throughout. That would unite Havertz with his Germany teammate Timo Werner — a formidable pair!

Bild adds, however, that according to their information Chelsea has not yet made an offer for Havertz. Havertz himself meanwhile wants to hold talks with his own club, who hope that they can hold on to him for another season.

Ralf Rangnick to join AC Milan (Transfermarkt)

The 62-year-old sporting director of RB Leipzig and erstwhile coach has found an appealing new project in AC Milan. Rangnick has agreed to become the new head coach of AC Milan, replacing Stefano Pioli and may also become the club’s sporting director.

It was Rangnick’s insistence on having such total control over his clubs that ruled him out of collaboration at Bayern Munich when the Bavarians were weighing their options to replace Niko Kovac.

And literally while I was typing, Fabrizio Romano gives the official “here we go”!

Mario Mandzukic terminates contract with Al-Duhail (GOAL)

Six months in Qatar were enough for Mario Mandzukic. The former Bayern Munich and Juventus striker has terminated his contract with Al-Duhail and is now a free agent.

Mandzukic left Juventus for Qatar after losing his place in the lineup, the final insult being his omission from the club’s Champions League squad.

It is thought that Mandzu might return to Serie A, where Benevento and AC Milan are potential destinations, or perhaps Galatasaray and Fenerbahce in the Turkish league.

From Flexing to Bonking re: Benjamin Henrichs

People often say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I suppose TZ’s Manuel Bonke meant the tweet below as a kind of homage to Bild’s Cristian Falk:

So now we have Falk “flexing” and “Bonking”?

JB17 mood

Michael Cuisance brings the HYPE

Hansi Flick brings some treasures to the Bayern museum

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