Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich linked again to FC Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and Sergino Dest; Matthijs de Ligt to leave Juventus?; Leroy Sane is tearing it up; and MORE!

Bayern scoping two Barca steals? (Fichajes via Barca Universal)

Bayern Munich is once again being linked to the rumored fire sale that could occur during the summer at FC Barcelona.

And again...the names of Frenkie de Jong and Sergino Dest have been mentioned:

Barcelona could be a subject of a double-raid by German champions Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window. According to Fichajes, the Bavarian giants are planning to make moves for defender Sergino Dest and midfielder Frenkie de Jong next year.

Manager Julian Nagelsmann is seeking a competitor for current first-choice right-back Benjamin Pavard, with a more attacking profile in mind, leading the German outfit to Dest.

The second Barcelona player that Die Roten have their eyes on is Frenkie de Jong. Another former Ajax star, the 24-year-old was on Bayern’s radar before he joined the Blaugrana back in 2019. And they have continued to keep tabs on his development since.

The Bundesliga champions are set to lose Corentin Tolisso at the end of the season when his contract expires, while Marc Roca is also expected to be sold in the summer, leaving spaces open in the midfield department, which they intend to fill with De Jong’s signing.

Multiple Bayern players recognized for (@WhoScored)

Bayern Munich’s throttling of Wolfsburg yielded some recognition for a host of Bavarians including, Dayot Upamecano, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, and Thomas Müller:

Bavarian Podcast Works Season 4, Episode 19 (Bavarian Football Works)

The Hinrunde is over and Bayern Munich are officially the winter champions! Borussia Dortmund’s loss to Hertha Berlin means that Julian Nagelsmann is officially 9 points clear at the top of the table after his first half-season in charge of the club — one of the best starts to a new season since Pep Guardiola. Still, there’s plenty to address regarding the circumstances of this Hinrunde, which we took the liberty of doing.

In this episode, Ineednoname and Samrin discuss:

• What the hell happened to Borussia Dortmund this season?
• The general decline in the quality of the Bundesliga this season.
• Why losing great coaching talent has cost the league dearly.
• We start talking about Nagelsmann 10 minutes in if you can’t listen to discussion about other teams.
• What grade do we give Nagelsmann?
• Samrin explains her reasoning first.
• Can Bayern Munich compete with the top teams in the Champions League right now?
• Should Nagelsmann have been given a 5-year contract?
• How the coach is finding a better balance in recent games.
• Similarities between Nagelsmann and Pep Guardiola, especially with regard to Thomas Muller.
• Should Bayern make January transfers? (Includes a healthy dose of clowning on Cuisance.)
• INNN explains his reasoning for Nagelsmann’s rating.
• Final comments: Being fair to Nagelsmann and why we will keep backing him despite criticism.

Raiola greasing the path for De Ligt to leave Juve? (Sport Bild)

Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt was once a primary target for Bayern Munich. The match seemed like a natural fit, but along the way De Ligt’s price tag became so high that the Bavarians were priced out of the running.

Now, De Ligt could be back on the market...will Bayern Munich be interested? Given the cost would once again be absurd, probably not:

Matthijs de Ligt (22) is still under contract with Juventus Turin until 2024, but something could soon change. His advisor Mino Raiola (54) has fueled rumors of change about the central defender against “NRC”. According to Raiola, this is “ready for the next step”.

Even more, Raiola announced that he believed de Ligt would also consider a move. Was he really ready for the next step? Raiola: “He sees it the same way!”

De Ligt moved from Ajax Amsterdam to Serie A in the summer of 2019 for € 85.5 million. In his first season he still celebrated the championship with Juve, the last season was then very disappointing with fourth place and the knockout round in the Champions League.

Two Frauen players honored for strong play (ELFEN Magazin)

Two Bayern Munich Frauen players were honored with a Best XI selection by ELFEN Magazin for last weekend’s match. Maximiliane Rall and Linda Dallmann were picked for the honor:

Sane is having himself a season (@FCBayernUS)

Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane has been terrific both statistically and via the eye test. Check out these stats:

I harp on this...but it’s true. The first year after ACL surgery is always hit or miss. Now Sane has confidence in his knee and it is showing on the pitch.

And, yup, it was frustrated with him at times last season, but that has more to do with his decisions at times than his physical condition. All that is water under the bridge now, though, as Sane looks to be in terrific form.

ICYMI: The Weekend Warm-up Podcast (Bavarian Football Works)

Hey everybody! We are back for another Weekend Warm-up Podcast! This is the last edition before the team breaks, but rest assured, we’ll keep trudging forward to bring you our BFW brand of craziness even while Bayern Munich is maxing and relaxing.

Because of the Uber-condensed week, I’ve combined the Wolfsburg preview show into the Weekend Warm-up Podcast. I believe this is what you might call, “More Chuck for your buck!”

Anyway, here is what we have on tap:

• A quick look at Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg.
• A review of the Champions League draw fiasco.
• An examination into Bayern Munich’s Plans A, B, and C for the summer.
• Some thoughts about why Bayern Munich really needs to throwing timing to the wayside and go after Erling Haaland.