Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich moving on from Florian Neuhaus pursuit?; Bayern, Juventus, Real Madrid eyeing AS Monaco youngster; Erik ten Hag to take over FC Barcelona; Barca to pursue Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling?; and MORE!

Bayern now “cold” on Neuhaus (Sky)

Bayern Munich has been closely linked to Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder and Germany international Florian Neuhaus for about a year now, but as Neuhaus’ career progression has slowed, the interest from the Bavarians might have waned:

Florian Neuhaus is currently only a reserve at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Manu Kone has outstripped the international. Is this the reason why Neuhaus’ transfer is a long way off? Sky reporter Marc Behrenbeck said in Transfer Update - die Show: “He has an exit clause for 40 million. And at the moment, the road is very far away. The plan is to first regain his footing. Because he has arrived in the first real crisis.” Neuhaus has only fired two shots on goal all season. Behrenbeck added, “Bayern Munich completely cold and also all the big clubs.”

Another topic at the Foals is the future Denis Zakaria, whose contract expires in June 2022. Sky Transfer Expert Max Bielefeld on this: “Napoli he has rejected, also AS Rome, which is now also still interested. Then he changed his advisor. The fact is: AS Roma is still interested in him, we can confirm that. FC Barcelona is making some beautiful eyes. They are looking for a physical six-man.”

It is hard to see where Neuhaus would fit on the Bayern Munich roster next season. With Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Marcel Sabitzer, Thomas Müller, and Jamal Musiala all assuredly forming the foundation for the squad’s three starting midfield slots next season, Neuhaus would seem to be overkill at the position.

Bayern, Juve competing over youngster (JuveFC.com)

It looks like Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Real Madrid all like the same youngster — AS Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni:

Aurelien Tchouameni is a target of Juventus, but several European clubs also want to sign him and they will ensure that he doesn’t go to Turin. The latest to be linked with a move for him is Bayern Munich, with the Germans looking for a replacement for Corentin Tolisso.

Tolisso has been a target of Juve before now and Calciomercato says Bayern sees Tchouameni as his heir. They will not renew the deal of the World Cup winner who has been an injury-prone player for much of his time in Bavaria and they would instead move for Tchouameni.

Juve will consider this competition from them a serious threat to landing the AS Monaco midfielder. Bayern remains the dominant club in Germany and they won the Champions League in 2020.

They also have a young manager in Julian Nagelsmann and he could convince the 21-year-old to make the move to Munich instead of Turin.Juve will do all they can to sign him, but he is not their only midfield target at the moment.

If they miss out on his signature, they could put in more effort to bring Paul Pogba back to Turin. However, Tchouameni is much younger and he would offer more years of active football to the Bianconeri.

Sport1 is also reporting that Real Madrid is in the mix for Tchouameni:

Real Madrid are ready to take on big bucks in the coming transfer windows. In addition to Kylian Mbappé, his French national team colleague Aurélien Tchouameni should now also be in the sights of the royal family.

The 21-year-old AS Monaco midfielder is said to be very popular with Real Madrid officials , according to a report from Marca . Tchouameni has a contract with the Monegasque until 2024. Monaco paid a € 18 million transfer fee to Girondins Bordeaux for the midfielder last year. According to Transfermarkt , Tchuaméni has a market value of 35 million euros.

In terms of his game, the French international is very reminiscent of his compatriot Paul Pogba from Manchester United. Due to the failure of Ngolo Kanté, Aurélien Tchouameni also came more and more to the fore in the national team and most recently played for the full 90 minutes in the triumph in the Nations League final against Spain.

The main target for Los Blancos, however, remains Mbappé, with whom they will be able to negotiate a contract from next winter.

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works S4E10 (Bavarian Football Works)

Germany have done quite well so far, and are carrying the momentum from their victory against Romania into the game against North Macedonia. Coach Hansi Flick will undoubtedly have several selection headaches, and the defense would be one area he’d want to get right. Meanwhile, Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard haven’t really been having a good time with both France and Bayern Munich. Will they be able to turn the tide and start performing consistently at the top level? Remains to be seen.

When Bayern and the Bundesliga are involved, there’s always so much to talk about, which is why in this pod, we’ll also be looking at the forms of other BuLi clubs. We obviously won’t tell you about everything here, because we’d like you to listen and hear for yourself! But here’s a synopsis of what we covered in the pod:

• Talking about the form of Leverkusen and Freiburg in the Bundesliga.
• Germany’s situation in defense; Bayern’s situation in defense.
• Nagelsmann’s lack of rotation.
• Why Timo Werner should not be starting for Germany.
• Free transfers and why Bayern should stop doing this.
• Newcastle and the Sheikh takeover... The EPL is the new power state battleground — amirite?
• Sneaking in some Arsenal banter in the end.

Ten Hag to replace Koeman? (Transfer Market Web)

With Ronald Koeman firmly on the hot seat at FC Barcelona, Ajax’s Erik ten Hag could be his replacement:

Reports in Spain suggest that another Dutchman - Ajax boss Erik Ten Hag - is the preferred option to take over as Barcelona manager if Joan Laporta decides to move on from Ronald Koeman.

The Dutchman is under pressure at the Nou Camp after Barca’s slow start to the season. Ronald Koeman’s future, according to Marca’s Luis Rojo, is dependent on the results of three forthcoming games this month.

Following a terrible start to the season on all fronts, the manager has been under a lot of criticism. Though his league start was sluggish, it was his poor start to the Champions League campaign that prompted talk of his resignation.

Barcelona’s worst start to the tournament in 20 years came after back-to-back three-goal defeats to Bayern Munich and Benfica. The squad is currently ranked bottom in their group. The three important matches are the league encounter against Valencia, the UCL match against Dynamo Kyiv on the third matchday, and El Clasico. All three games are scheduled to take place within a week and are expected to be tough contests.

Barca to pursue Sterling if Dembele rejects extension (Sport1)

FC Barcelona will pursue Manchester City star Raheem Sterling if Ousmane Dembele:

That FC Barcelona could well imagine signing Raheem Sterling is not entirely new. But neither are the Catalans’ financial problems.

Therefore, a transfer of such a star player as Sterling represents a great challenge for Barca. The Spanish newspaper Sport now reports that a concrete interest in the offensive player depends on Ousmane Dembélé staying at the Camp Nou.

Should the Frenchman, who became a shooting star at Borussia Dortmund, decide against an extension at Barca, then the Catalans would approach Sterling and his club Manchester City. Dembélé’s contract expires in summer 2022. He missed the start of the season with an injury.

Barca eyeing Zakaria (Transfer Market Web)

Even with Borussia Mönchengladbach preparing an offer to extend the contract of Denis Zakaria, FC Barcelona is lurking:

Barcelona could move for Denis Zakaria if they cannot sign Paul Pogba or Franck Kessie, says Mundo Deportivo. The Catalan club face great competition for targets Pogba and Kessie and could see either target move to one of their competitors. But the Borussia Monchengladbach star has emerged as an alternative and will also be available on a free transfer at the end of the season.

With his contract with the German club expiring, the Swiss midfielder will probably change air as early as January, with Roma that after the summer interests is ready to sink the blow in the next transfer market window.

He is not Xhaka but, for Mourinho, Zakaria is suitable for his 4-2-3-1. And with a contract expiring after a few months it will be easier to snatch him from ‘Gladbach for an advantageous amount: valued last summer €20m, in January the class of ‘96 will be able to leave the Bundesliga club for less than half.

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works Postgame Show: Germany beats North Macedonia 0-4 (Bavarian Football Works)

If there was ever going to be a barometer to measure if Hansi Flick’s Germany is indeed better than Joachim Löw’s Germany, it would be this. Under their former manager, Germany had lost to North Macedonia (albeit a North Macedonia with Goran Pandev); that loss was Germany’s first in roughly two decades in a World Cup qualifier. The opposition was the same today and as long as Romania was able to beat Armenia, what was at the stake for Germany was World Cup qualification for Qatar 2022.

Hansi Flick made some notable changes. As Antonio Rüdiger was absent due to injury, he inserted Thilo Kehrer into the heart of the defense next to Niklas Süle, played David Raum in the left-back slot and replaced Jonas Hofmann with Lukas Klostermann for the right back slot. He also left out Leroy Sané in favor of Kai Havertz for this one.