Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United eyeing Cody Gakpo; Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane still on Bayern’s radar; Brazzo on team building; BVB’s Niklas Süle talks Jude Bellingham; & MORE!

Bayern among clubs linked to Gakpo (@Plettigoal)

Bayern Munich was linked to PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo during the last summer transfer window and now those rumors could be heating up once again.

Gakpo was rumored to have a deal in place with Leeds United, but that is not true according to Sky journalist Florian Plettenberg. Interestingly, Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona were also included among the clubs where Gakpo could land:

Per Transfermarkt, Gakpo has played exclusively at left-wing this season, but he has also been used as a striker in the past.

As for getting a true striker, that’s not looking good (@Plettigoal)

Florian Plettenberg was not done there, however. The Sky journo also chimed in to say that Bayern Munich will not be going after a striker — because it would take too much money to get the level of striker that Bayern Munich requires.

Looking ahead, though, Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane is still an option for next summer:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 14

Bayern Munich had a good week in the Bundesliga and Champions League.

The squad is getting healthy after a string of injuries and a couple of bouts with COVID-19.

Things are looking decidedly good...right?

Hell yeah, they are!

There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the recent developments with the Bavarians and a whole lot to talk about in the great world of football. Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at Bayern Munich’s bounce-back week that might have cost Gerardo Seoane his job (Welcome Xabi Alonso!).
• Some thoughts on Der Klassiker.
• Transfer updates on Christopher Nkunku and Alexander Nübel.
• Erling Haaland is throttling the Premier League and EPL elitists don’t know how to handle it.
• Bayern Munich is at its best with Thomas Müller and Jamal Musiala working together...for now. Liverpool is among the clubs yearning for a player like Moose.

Brazzo says building a team takes time at Bayern (51)

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić understands that fans want him to be able swap-in and swap-out players at will during each transfer window, but the 45-year-old says that is simply not that easy.

Salihamidžić says that building a team takes time — not just for talent acquisition, but in how that talent melds together.

“The most important thing is to have a good foundation on which everything is stable and nothing wobbles when there’s resistance. You have to be able to endure resistance at FC Bayern. At FC Bayern, the foundation is usually formed from Germany internationals, then strengthened with top international players and supplemented with top young players in order to stimulate competition and also have squad players as alternatives,” Salihamidžić told Bayern Munich club magazine “51” in a recent interview. “And we always need young players from the FC Bayern Campus, because talent from our own ranks is what we all want most, as they have already absorbed the club’s identity early on.”

Salihamidžić also talked about the role that Julian Nagelsmann plays in helping the squad evolve and eventually become a functioning unit.

“This is FC Bayern, it’s always about the highest goals here. But in reality, of course, it takes time to put a squad together like that,” Salihamidžić said. “The coach plays an important role here because he has to manage everything on a daily basis, both in sporting and human terms. Each of these top professionals always wants to play. It’s a big challenge to balance everything in such a way that everyone is happy, but there is still healthy competition. We want to inspire the fans with attractive football — and in the end we also have to win.”

Could Bellingham handle having three kids? Inquiring minds want to know! (@berger_pj)

Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham got some notoriety this weekend for kicking Alphonso Davies in the head (Bellingham is clearly anti-Canadian). Now, Niklas Süle is ready to dump three kids on him because he thinks the Englishman is mature enough to handle it at the tender age of 19-years-old:

At 19-years-old, I could not handle three shots of whiskey, let alone three kids.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

Sooooo ... Bayern Munich went to the Signal Iduna Park and came out with a draw. Under normal circumstances you’d take that result, but when the team were leading Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at one point, a draw leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Once again, Bayern have dropped points where they shouldn’t have, meaning that the club is back in crisis again. When will it end?

Here are our talking points from the game:

• Our impressions of the result overall. What does this mean for Bayern Munich?
• Is Sadio Mane becoming a problem?
• Would the presence of Thomas Muller have prevented a collapse like this from happening?
• Did Bayern Munich get unlucky in this game?
• Is it time to ask questions about Julian Nagelsmann? What is going on?

ICYMI: Stuttgart sacks Matarazzo (@VfB_int)

VfB Stuttgart fired Pellegrino Matarazzo on Monday:

Barca comments on De Jong mess (@FabrizioRomano)

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta addressed the rampant rumors that the club asked Dutch star Frenkie de Jong to take a pay cut. In addition, Laporta admitted that the club has received multiple bids on De Jong: