Daily Schmankerl: The aftermath of Germany vs. Iceland; Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Manchester United all tracking Bayer Leverkusen’s Moussa Diaby?; David Alaba speaks; Real Madrid wants Harry Kane; and MORE!

Die Folgen: Germany’s 3-0 victory over Iceland (Bavarian Football Works)

Germany used a strong Bayern Munich contingent to capture a dominant 3-0 victory over Iceland. Here are some quick hitters on the match:

• Leon Goretzka’s opening goal was perfectly placed. Serge Gnabry did a great job of finding Goretzka, who was left unguarded and ready to strike. The play was started by an absolutely perfect ball from Joshua Kimmich.
• From the outset, Germany looked more fluid and dangerous than they had at any time in recent memory.
• Leroy Sane set up Kai Havertz perfectly as well and the Chelsea man converted with his left-foot to put Germany up 2-0. Similar to the first goal, Kimmich fed Sane a perfect pass to really create the opportunity.
• Germany clearly saw that there would probably be openings at the top of the box and exploited that early on both goals.
• There was a fluidity and offensive aggression in Germany’s game that we had not often seen of late.
• The midfield of Goretzka, Kimmich, and İlkay Gündoğan did well to control the tempo of the game, maintain possession, and dictate play. The midfield just looked more potent and dangerous than what we have become accustomed to.
• Kimmich was absolutely sensational by the way. Kimmich completed 92% of passes, had five key passes, and two of his three ground duels on his way to being terrific on the day.
• There was definitely some buzz online about the absence of Toni Kroos being a reason for the midfield’s superior performance. There might be something to that...
• There seemed to be a fair amount of fluidity with positioning among Germany’s forwards. Gnabry, Havertz, and Sane all seemed to move freely across the frontline. We had seen this previously when Timo Werner was up-top. The constant shifting and movement does seem to create confusion for the opposition (well, at least against Iceland).
• I thought the backline handled itself well. Emre Can, Antonio Rudiger, Matthias Ginter, and Lukas Klostermann did well to limit the threats headed toward Manuel Neuer.
• Gündoğan did well to place his long distance shot in the corner and give Germany a commanding 3-0 lead.
• It needs to be said that Germany deserves credit for staying focused despite the COVID-19 induced drama going on with Jonas Hofmann (positive test) and Marcel Halstenberg (Category 1 contact)

If you missed our Match Awards, Observations, or Postgame Podcast give them a look or a listen:

Bayern tracking Diaby? (AS)

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Manchester United are all reportedly tracking Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby. Per AS, Real Madrid is keeping an especially close watch on the 21-year-old:

Real Madrid continue to study a number of potential reinforcements in the transfer market and have been following a young French player who is on the books at Bayer Leverkusen. Moussa Diaby, an exciting 21-year-old winger has caught Madrid’s eye, and that of a number of other top Europe clubs. During last summer’s transfer window, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund held talks with his agent. It is going to be very difficult for Leverkusen to hold onto him, but they stand to do well from his sale - Diaby is valued at upwards of 40 million euros.

Diario AS understands that Madrid’s scouting reports on Diaby are very positive. Apart from Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have been tracking his progress.

Diaby would be a curious and expensive purchase for Bayern Munich. A fine talent, it would seem unlikely that Bayer Leverkusen would be eager to sell him to the Bavarians — and even less unlikely that Bayern Munich would pay any kind of price that approach €20 million for Diaby, let alone €40 million.

Alaba not really addressing Madrid rumors (@FabrizioRomano)

Bayern Munich’s David Alaba seems to have narrowed his choices down to Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, but he is not giving anyone any insight into which way he is leaning:

Richards’ USMNT jersey number (@USMNT)

Chris Richards will be wearing #15 for the USMNT:

More Lewandowski propaganda (@dw_sports)

Because everyone could use a little more of Robert Lewandowski’s excellence in their lives:

Madrid back in on Kane? (Transfer Market Web)

If Real Madrid strikes out on Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe and Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, it could make a play for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane:

While both major targets Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland are turning up quite hard to bring in, ahead of next summer, Real Madrid are back tracking English international striker Harry Kane (27), according to SER Deportivos. Tottenham aren’t letting their resident star hitman out, tracked by Manchester City as well, on a less than 150 million euros transfer fee.

Another Aaronson to keep an eye on (@PhilaUnion)

You might remember former Philadelphia Union star Brendan Aaronson being linked to a few Bundesliga teams before ultimately signing a deal with RB Salzburg. Aaronson has gotten off to a very solid start in Austria, but his younger brother Paxten is already making waves in an effort to fill his shoes. This footage is from the Union’s 3-1 scrimmage loss to Orlando City:

Paxten Aaronson is just 17-years-old by the way.