Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich did what was best for the team against Mainz; BVB urges Erling Haaland to follow Robert Lewandowski; Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan preaches patience for Timo Werner and Kai Havertz; plus MORE!

Kimmich did what he had to do against Mainz (Bild)

Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich has evolved into one of the world’s top midfielders, but against Mainz 05, the 25-year-old was asked to throw his game back to a simpler time when mostly everyone was just calling him, “the next Philipp Lahm.”

Kimmich’s cameo at right-back against Mainz — which resulted in a goal and an assist — was just that, a cameo, per Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick.

“We know that six is ​​his favorite position,” said Flick. “But he put himself at the service of the team.”

Anyone who was looking for a potential position switch for Kimmich can probably just keep looking. It sounds like Kimmich will remain a defensive midfielder unless Flick reaches a “break glass in case of emergency”-type situation.

Dortmund urging Haaland to stay (Sport Bild)

In an obvious bit of advice, Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke is advising star striker Erling Haaland (20) against a move as early as this summer. Oddly, though, Watzke is also saying that Haaland should follow the path already set by...Robert Lewandowski.

“Erling and also his advisor Mino Raiola know what they have in us,” Watzke told kicker (as captured by Sport Bild). “I can only advise him to do as Robert Lewandowski did.”

Let’s assume that Watzke does not mean wait until your contract expires and take a free transfer to Bayern Munich. Perhaps he is thinking along the lines of something like “develop into a bonafide superstar at Borussia Dortmund.”

Anyway, Watzke is not expecting Haaland to make a move this summer despite a tidal wave of reports, including one that stated BVB would be willing to sell Haaland for a nine-figure sum.

“It’s clear that if Erling should leave us at some point, he will only go to an even bigger club. And there aren’t that many to consider. If you go to a club like — just to give an example — Real Madrid, you have to be world class,” Watzke said.

Haaland’s contract with Borussia Dortmund run through the 2023/2024 season, but also is rumored to have a buyout clause that would be active after the 2021/2022 season.

Speaking of Lewy (@WhoScored)

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is scoring at a frightening rate:

Werner, Havertz struggles no surprise to Gundogan (Sky Sports)

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is not shocked that Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are having some trouble at Chelsea. As a German who made the leap to the Premier League, Gundogan knows there is definitely an adjustment period that happens after moving to England:

“They have two new German players who have tried to adapt as well as possible,” Gundogan said. “In general, I think it’s not easy to adapt quickly to the Premier League when you come from a different country and now with the situation going on, I think it’s just even harder. So I think it’s quite normal that they are struggling a little bit, but they both have incredible talent and I’m sure they will both be able to prove it in this league.”

The unfortunate part for Werner and Havertz is that there is little stability with Chelsea at the moment. More likely to throw more money at a problem than problem-solve internally, both Werner and Havertz are probably wishing that Hansi Flick had just a little bit more say in Bayern Munich’s personnel decisions last summer.

Dortmund boss denies Gunners rumors for Brandt (@cfbayern)

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc denied knowing anything about those alleged Julian Brandt-to-Arsenal rumors. As Sport Bild’s Christian Falk notes, however, Zorc did not unequivocally state that Brand wasn’t for sale:

And then there was this:

Given how in flux the Borussia Dortmund lineup and roster is right now, a move for Brandt might not be the worst thing. If he is not a permanent part of BVB’s starting XI at this stage, he should move on.

This is cool (@simongerman600)

John Dillon posted this in our Slack channel and I thought it was awesome, so here you go: