Daily Schmankerl: Manchester United, Arsenal to challenge Bayern Munich on Florian Wirtz; Borussia Dortmund eyeing Chelsea’s Timo Werner?; FC Barcelona wants Karim Adeyemi; After Leon Goretzka miss, Real Madrid wants Nicolo Barella; and MORE!

United, Arsenal to challenge Bayern on Wirtz (Transfer Market Web)

Manchester United and Arsenal FC are supposedly lining up to challenge Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for Bayer Leverkusen phenom Florian Wirtz:

Manchester United and Arsenal allegedly hold an interest in landing the highly-rated Bayer Leverkusen youngster Florian Wirtz. In spite of only turning 18 years of age in May, the ace has already established himself as an important player at the Bundesliga outfit. The versatile midfielder, a natural replacement for Chelsea’s Germany international Kai Havertz, has contributed 11 goals and 11 assists from 50 first-team appearances.

According to a recent report from a Spanish news outlet Todofichajes, the Red Devils and the Gunners have been left impressed by his progression over the last one year. Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are also long-term admirers and will almost surely attempt to keep the player in the country if Florian becomes available in the future. However, Die Werkself are in no rush to part company with Wirtz, who has a contract at BayArena until the end of the 2025-26 season.

BVB plotting Werner move? (Tz)

Could Borussia Dortmund be planning to make a move for Chelsea FC’s Timo Werner? With Bayern Munich rumored to already be interested, BVB could sneak in through the back door in an attempt to grab the Germany international:

Due to the Lukaku transfer, Werner is on the sidelines for the time being, recently, among other things, a possible swap deal with FC Bayern was reported. The German record champions would give up Leroy Sané for it. Bayern are said to have been interested in Werner even during the Leipzig era, but they never made a commitment. The 25-year-old experienced his most successful time under FCB coach Julian Nagelsmann, the two are said to be still in contact . What speaks against a deal, however, is that Werner would be behind Robert Lewandowski at Bayern - just as he is currently behind Lukaku.

With another Bundesliga club, he could play a bigger role. At Borussia Dortmund, for example. Because the next stone could fall in the coming summer. Superstar Erling Haaland is hunted by every top European club and will be able to choose his new challenge. It is extremely unlikely that BVB can hold it until 2023. Accordingly, the big Bayern competitor will need a new striker. As reported by Sport Bild , Werner is on the note, among other things.

The Ruhrpott Club probably has three other names on the list. Inters Lautaro Martinez, European champion Andrea Belotti and Marcus Thuram from Bundesliga competitor Borussia Mönchengladbach. For Thuram it would speak that he knows coach Marco Rose. Which striker Michael Zorc, Aki Watzke and Co. will decide in the end remains to be seen. Maybe they’ll manage to somehow convince Erling Haaland to stay, the season is still long after all. And maybe a domino stone will fall that is not expected today. (ta)

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 17 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich is set to take on VfL Bochum this weekend after dismantling both RB Leipzig and FC Barcelona during the last week.

We are set to find out a lot about how Julian Nagelsmann intends to rotate his squad in the coming weeks, but there are several other hot topics on the agenda. Bayern Munich also inked Leon Goretzka to a new deal, which will keep him at the club through 2026.

Clearly, there is a lot to discuss. Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Bayern Munich’s crazy strength defensively and why the club must sign Niklas Süle.
• Bayern Munich’s dominance over RB Leipzig and FC Barcelona.
• Leon Goretzka’s contract extension and what it means for the future of the midfield moving forward.
• Why it might be time to rest Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala.

Barca still wants Adeyemi (Transfer Market Web)

FC Barcelona could be strongly considering a push for RB Salzburg star Karim Adeyemi:

Wooed much by both Bayern Munich and Liverpool, 19-year old German striker Karim Adeyemi, recently making his senior national team debut under Hansi Flick, is still a major target for FC Barcelona. Going through a big financial crisis, as widely known, Blaugrana, in order to clean house and build up a brand new star team, are going for relatively low-cost market target.

While RB Leipzig management, as often done before, might recover the 2002-born from their Red Bull Salzburg branch, Adeyemi might be heading for a move into the ranks of a top club anyway, once current season’s over. According to Transfermarkt.de, he’s at the time worth 20 million euros.

Rae talks fan friendships between Bayern and Bochum (@RaeComm)

Bundesliga commentator Derek Rae talks through story on why Bayern Munich and VfL Bochum fans have a bond:

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. VFL Bochum — Hinrunde (Bavarian Football Works)

The Bayern Munich machine is on a roll, and after their demolition of Barcelona, Nagelsmann’s side will be looking to pick apart a sub-par VFL Bochum side during the weekend. Bochum have just won one out of their 4 Bundesliga fixtures, while Bayern Munich head into the game on the back of their 6th successive victory in all competitions, looking to grab the top spot in the Bundesliga table, provided Wolfsburg drop points.

In this podcast, we will preview Bayern’s fixture against Bochum. Here are the key talking points:

• Nagelsmann’s ‘new-look’ Bayern
• Bayern’s defensive solidity
• Bochum’s form heading into the game
• Bochum’s key players
• The expected lineup for Bayern and a scoreline prediction

Madrid moves on from Goretzka, targets Barella (The Hard Tackle)

After realizing it would be able to sign Leon Goretzka, Real Madrid is reportedly targeting Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella:

Real Madrid have reportedly set their sights on Nicolo Barella as their priority target to bolster the midfield unit next summer.

According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Real Madrid are turning their attention away from Paul Pogba and Leon Goretzka in their bid to reinforce their midfield next summer. The Spanish giants are now aiming their focus on 24-year-old Inter Milan midfielder Nicolo Barella.