Weekend Warm-up: Bayern Munich’s options for Niklas Süle replacement becoming clear; Throwing it back to Freedy Johnston and Joan Jett (!?); Bayern’s campus is breeding optimism; and MORE!

On his Bayern Insider podcast Sport Bild’s Christian Falk laid out Bayern Munich’s plans to replace Niklas Süle and it seems like things are shaping up to come down to Chelsea FC’s Andreas Christensen vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Matthias Ginter.

According to Falk, Chelsea center-back and Germany international Antonio Rüdiger is still favored by the Bavarians, but the feeling might not necessarily be reciprocal. Here is the mini-breakdown of where things stand per Falk (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):

Plan A

• Christensen: Talks with the player’s family are in process, but Falk says that the Christensens are not thrilled with Bayern Munich’s offer. However, Christensen — allegedly — is willing to make the move should the two sides be able to agree on a salary. Christensen reportedly wants a financial package of €14.4 million (salary + signing bonus), which is much more than the €10 million offered to Süle. Still, his status as a free transfer is appealing to Bayern Munich.

Plan B

• Rüdiger: The Germany international might be Bayern Munich’s second choice, but it seems as if Rüdiger prefers an extension with Chelsea or a move to Real Madrid. Moreover, the 28-year-old allegedly would like even more money than Christensen. Even as a free transfer, Bayern Munich might not want to spend that much for Rüdiger.

Plan C

• Ginter: The cheapest — and most versatile — option, Ginter could make a seamless transition to Bayern Munich after the season and save the Rekordmeister some loot in the process. The Germany international is a clear third-choice per Falk, but the 28-year-old club offers some financial relief at a time where the Bavarians are doling out new, rich contracts in abundance. Bayern Munich’s Marco Neppe met with Ginter’s representatives in December, but not everyone at the club is onboard with the Gladbach defender.

Truthfully, I’m not enamored with any of those three selections. Given that Christensen and Rüdiger will — allegedly — command a lot more cash than Bayern Munich would have had to pay for Süle, it seems like a step back in both talent and squad planning. While I think any of the three players will be fine on the pitch, it seems as if a more hands-on approach to Süle might have been able to prevent this whole mess from happening in the first place.

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Song of the Week: “Bad Reputation” by Freedy Johnston

Man…I was scrolling through my iTunes and came across this gem from the 90s and knew I had to include it here.

Released in 1994, “Bad Reputation” was the biggest commercial hit for Freedy Johnston and was one of the great — absolute great — songs of that mid 90s time period. “Bad Reputation” was on Johnston’s “This Perfect World” album — which is actually a bit of a dark and somber collection because of the subject matter. “Bad Reputation”, however, is just a tremendous tune and is well worth your time.

You might remember it from the 90’s classic film Kingpin, but if you don’t check it out:

Ah hell, Joan Jett’s own “Bad Reputation” is pretty awesome, too, so here you go:

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Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 35

There might not be a game for Bayern Munich this weekend, but it was an extremely eventful period nonetheless.

The news was certainly not the best if you are a fan of Niklas Süle, so examining the fallout from his expected departure is right atop of this week’s agenda. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Niklas Süle’s upcoming exit and a walk through of the top candidates to replace him. Will it be Matthias de Ligt, Nico Schlotterbeck, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, or Matthias Ginter? Or “maybe it’s something really cool that I don’t even know about” like Frank the Tank said in Old School.
• Could Bayern Munich have a legitimate shot to get Erling Haaland if Robert Lewandowski leaves?
• Alexander Nübel’s future at Bayern Munich is dependent on the length of Manuel Neuer’s contract extension.
• Why the FC Bayern: Behind the Legend documentary was terrific, painful, genuine — and ultimately well done — all at the same time.

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A reason for optimism

How nice is it that Bayern Munich is producing talent that is not only pushing to breakthrough on campus — but that is also drawing interest from other big clubs?

Most recently, we have seen FC Barcelona linked to both Kenan Yildiz and Gabriel Vidovic, while Paul Wanner seems on the verge of becoming a part of the first team roster in Bavaria. With Arijon Ibrahimovic pushing to be on the fast track as well, and other players like Nemanja Motika, Armindo Sieb, and Jamie Lawrence also drawing interest from other clubs, things are definitely looking up from a youth development perspective on Säbener Straße.

We could go on and on, but there is clearly a reason to be excited. Sure, some fans will point to how quickly things can change for youngsters on campus (see Christian Früchtl, Torben Rhein, and Fiete Arp for examples of players whose careers have sputtered out after promising starts), but this current crop might be more ready to handle the ups-and-downs of being on the cusp of “making it.”

Let’s hope that is really the case and some of these players get to show their talent at the Allianz Arena. After a relatively dry spell of development, things appear headed in the right direction.

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Predictions Record

Another winning week! (Barely)

Last Bundesliga Match Day record: 5-4

Overall Bundesliga record: 93-86

DFB-Pokal record: 1-1

DFL-Supercup record: 1-0

Champions League record: 6-0

Overall record: 101-87