Daily Schmankerl: Discuss Borussia Dortmund vs. SC Freiburg here!; Bayern Munich ahead of Real Madrid for Nico Schlotterbeck; Joshua Kimmich wins fan vote; Borussia Dortmund pursuing Chelsea’s Andreas Christensen; and MORE!

Madrid behind Bayern in race for Schlotterbeck (The Hard Tackle)

Per a report out of Spain, Bayern Munich is the leader in the clubhouse to land SC Freiburg star Nico Schlotterbeck. Real Madrid is said to be next in line, though Schlotterbeck has made it clear he sees his future in the Bundesliga:

Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are reportedly vying for SC Freiburg defender Nico Schlotterbeck, with the Bundesliga champions leading the race to sign him.

According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are embroiled in a transfer tussle to sign Nico Schlotterbeck in the summer transfer window. The Bundesliga champions are the front-runners to land the 22-year-old SC Freiburg defender.

I am starting to think that if Niklas Süle and Bayern Munich determine that he will be moving on, the Bavarians will not wait long to make SC Freiburg an offer on Schlotterbeck.

At this point, Antonio Rüdiger seems like a lock to re-up with Chelsea FC and Matthias Ginter’s primary attribute is the fact he would be a free transfer. Otherwise, the Gladbach man does not seem to have a ton of support at Bayern Munich — outside of Julian Nagelsmann.

Interestingly, a standoff on Ginter could be Nagelsmann first showdown with sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidizic.

Kimmich wins fan vote (@DFB_Fanclub)

Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich won the DFB Fanclub’s vote as Germany’s Player of the Year:

You voted Joshua #Kimmich for #Nationalspieler the year 2021. Second place goes to @kaihavertz29 and @leroy_sane lands in third place. Congratulations Joshua!

To the result https://bit.ly/fcnsocial1020 @DFB_Team

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. FC Köln (Bavarian Football Works)

When looking at Bundesliga managers, you would be hard-pressed to find anyone doing a better job than FC Köln’s Steffen Baumgart.

Of course, Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann and SC Freiburg’s Christian Streich have also done pretty well, but with the Billy Goats sitting in sixth place, it is hard to think many other coaches could take that FC Köln roster and take it to these heights.

With the Billy Goats an absolutely worthy opponent, Bayern Munich absolutely need to being its “A” game — and not the same lifeless effort it had against Gladbach. Here is what we have on tap:

• A look at where each team sits in the table.
• Why FC Köln is dangerous.
• The players we’ve seen identified as possible starters for Bayern Munich.
• What the Bavarians need to show even with a lineup that once again will not be operating at 100%.
• A prediction on the match.

Christensen to...BVB? (@cfbayern)

Could Borussia Dortmund pull off a big swing and convince Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen to move to Germany? It looks like BVB will at least try:

Vidovic represented by Rummenigge (Abendzeitung)

Interestingly, Bayern Munich starlet Gabriel Vidovic is represented by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s son, Roman. I wonder if that will have any effect on future negotiations:

If Vidovic hadn’t caught a cold last week, he would have appeared on the line-up sheet as a substitute against Gladbach. That should be made up for this weekend. Nagelsmann wants to test the striker at Bundesliga level. Vidovic was already scheduled for the squad in the top game at Borussia Dortmund on December 4th. “Vidovic injured himself yesterday, we actually wanted to take him with us,” said Nagelsmann at the time of the young attacker, who was suffering from muscular problems.

Now the timing could be right, because with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (32) another Bayern striker, the backup of Robert Lewandowski (33), is currently at the Africa Cup and is on the hunt for goals. Speaking of goals: Incidentally, Vidovic is advised by Roman Rummenigge, the son of the former world-class goalscorer and CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge . There is sure to be a tip for Vidovic on how to make it to the top as a striker at Bayern.

LFC sees Coman extension as positive for Raphinha hopes (Rousing the Kop)

One winner from Bayern Munich’s decision to extend Kingsley Coman’s

Bayern were thought to be monitoring Raphinha as an option in case they couldn’t tie their player down.

But with Coman now signed up until 2027, Liverpool could have a clearer path to get the deal done. This doesn’t mean securing Leeds’ star man will be easy. The Brazilian will still command a fee in excess of £60m, with some of his club’s fans wanting as much as £100m for him.

In addition, Germany international Robin Koch sat down with Christian Falk for an interview and detailed that Raphinha never asked him about the Bundesliga, which made Koch believe that maybe there was not concrete interest from Bayern Munich in the winger:

Dybala to finally leave Juve? (Football Italia)

Could the never-ending “will he go or won’t he?” saga for Paulo Dybala at Juventus finally end with him leaving Italy? Probably not, but drama will unfold anyway:

According to reports in Argentina, Paulo Dybala is unhappy with Juventus’ decision to change their contract extension offer and is ready to open talks with other clubs, leaving Turin as a free agent in the summer.

Dybala sees his current contract expire at the end of the season and according to multiple reports in Italy, he had agreed to sign a new €10m-a-year deal until 2026.

However, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported earlier this week that the Bianconeri would withdraw their contract extension offer, making a new proposal to the Argentinean.

Juventus may offer Dybala the same salary (€7.3m-a-year) or even a lower one because of the striker’s physical issues and the club’s financial problems.

TyCSports journalist Cesar Luis Merlo reports that Dybala would not sign a contract extension under the new conditions.

La Joya is annoyed with the Bianconeri and is now open to hearing offers from other clubs.

‘Dybala has decided not to renew his contract with Juventus unless the situation changes drastically,’ the Argentinean journalist claimed on Twitter.

Dybala was consistently linked to Bayern Munich for a few years, but with his primary advocate (Karl-Heinz Rummenigge) no longer in power, it seems that interest has cooled.

Demir back to Rapid (@FCBarcelona)

FC Barcelona sent young attacker Yusuf Demir back to SK Rapid Wien and ended his loan assignment early:

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works Season 4, Episode 20 (Bavarian Football Works)

After a long (and unintended) hiatus, BPW is finally back with a new episode! While we were gone, Bayern Munich concluded the winter break and came back to a disastrous Covid-19 situation at the club. Up to TEN players tested positive before the game against Borussia Monchengladbach, which the team ended up losing 2-1 to start off the new year. Not great, all things considered — but it did give us a lot to talk about.

In this episode, Ineednoname and Schnitzel discuss:

• The crazy situation with Covid-19 at the club, and how Julian Nagelsmann has coped.
• Were the players who tested positive (guys like Lucas Hernandez, Manuel Neuer, etc.) irresponsible by going abroad during vacation?
• Why was Bayern hit so hard by Covid?
• Another tangent on the state of the Bundesliga, stemming from frustration with how Gladbach play.
• Moving onto our main topic — has Marcel Sabitzer been a flop at Bayern Munich?
• Schnitzel gives an impassioned defense of the Austrian. INNN is unmoved.
• The problem(s) with Sabitzer so far.
• Schnitzel and INNN’s first argument of the year.
• Closing thoughts on the Sabitzer issue — what does he need to do to be accepted?
• A final quick look at the nominees for the FIFA The Best award — can Robert Lewandowski win it?