Daily Schmankerl: Dayot Upamecano “definitely” wants to go to Bayern Munich; Borussia Dortmund to hold a fire sale?; Timo Werner talks Chelsea experience so far; Max Meyer to FC Köln; and MORE!

Bayern leading race for Upamecano (Fussball Transfers)

Per a report from Fussball Transfers, Bayern Munich’s interest in RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano is apparently mutual:

According to FT information, the clear favorite in Upamecano poker is still FC Bayern. As our editorial team learned, the 22-year-old definitely wants to move to Munich.

Bayern Munich, though, will allegedly attempt to sign Upamecano for less than his €42.5 million release clause:

Even before the current season, the Frenchman was the topic on Säbener Strasse, a transfer did not take place due to cost reasons. According to FT information, the Leipzig professional is not upset about this . Next summer, Upamecano will be available for a fixed 42.5 million euros - with a view to the Corona crisis, the record champions may still try to lower the price a little. The competition is also lurking after all, according to FT information, Real Madrid, among others, is still lurking. But Munich’s chances of winning are good.

The report also had Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool listed as potential destinations for Upamecano.

Could Dortmund really be looking to sell off some prized youngsters? (ESPN)

ESPN captured a report from Bild that said Borussia Dortmund could be ready to sell-off youngsters like Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna, along with veteran Raphael Guerreiro:

The battle for Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho was one of the major transfer sagas of 2020, as Manchester United were not willing to splash out €120m to sign him in the summer.

However, things have changed now and as Dortmund have struggled in the league, Sancho has struggled too. Although the 20-year-old has improved and now has six goals and 13 assists this term, Dortmund’s demise both from a sporting and financial standpoint could force the German club to lower their expectations as they hope to cut their COVID-19 related losses, which are expected to be at around €75m.

Missing out on Champions League would make things worse and Bild reports they may consider letting stars like Sancho, Gio Reyna and Raphael Guerreiro depart for less than they would have last year.

Julian Brandt has also been heavily linked to move award from Dortmund as well. One thing is clear, if BVB cannot turn it around, there could be a major fallout for the roster.

Free live stream for the Frauen (FCBayern.com)

The FC Bayern Frauen will face-off against Walddörfer SV in the DFB-Pokal Frauen on Saturday at 3PM (local time) and it will be livestreamed for free on FCBayern.com:

On Saturday, January 30th, the FC Bayern women will compete at Walddörfer SV in Hamburg and want to make it clear that they will advance to the next round of the cup. For head coach Jens Scheuer’s team, the duel against the regional league team is the first competitive game of the year 2021.

At 3 p.m., FCBayern.com will broadcast the cup duel on this page in a free live stream. FC Bayern.tv live and Magenta Sport will also be showing the knockout game live in Hamburg.

The winner of this match will play Hoffenheim in the next round of the competition.

Werner speaks on frustrations in London (Sport Bild)

Chelsea scapegoat Timo Werner is shouldering the brunt of ire for his squad’s poor performances, but that does not mean the Germany international is ready to take his ball and go home.

Appearing on a podcast with entrepreneur Carsten Maschmeyer and Die Mannschaft teammate Toni Kroos, Werner acknowledged his struggles, but was not about to admit defeat.

“Last year I had 18 goals at the end of the half-season, now four. (It is a) goal slightly missed,” Werner said. “I missed too many scoring chances for that and didn’t play the way I wanted to in many games. Many say that in the Premier League you have the first year to learn.”

As far as the impact that Werner and teammate Kai Havertz have had, Werner thinks the players just need to adjust their individual games to a new environment.

“We have to find ourselves at the moment before we find each other,” said Werner. “The Premier League requires more work, especially in the physical area.”

BVB stars open up and have a laugh at themselves (@BlackYellow)

This was actually pretty good from Borussia Dortmund’s social media team with Erling Haaland and Gio Reyna:

Meyer to Die Geißböcke (@fckoel_en)

FC Köln got the deal done and signed Crystal Palace cast-off Max Meyer. The 23-year-old should provide a boost to the Billy Goats in the midfield:

Gunners announce Ødegaard (@Arsenal)

Like Luka Jovic did with Eintracht Frankfurt, Martin Ødegaard has left Real Madrid on a loan assignment. Ødegaard will seek to to replicate Jovic’s success after moving, only he will be trying to make it happen in London: