Daily Schmankerl: What should Bayern Munich do at goalkeeper?; Bayern wants quick deal with Lucas Hernandez; Aston Villa to get rid of Philippe Coutinho?; Arsenal wants Joao Felix; Liverpool leads on Jude Bellingham; and MORE!

The Neuer news was deflating (Bavarian Football Works)

When the story launched regarding Manuel Neuer’s broken leg, Bayern Munich fans everywhere felt pain in one way or another.

This season was already rife with doubt, but losing the captain, who just happens to be one of the game’s all-time great goalkeepers put a real damper on the mood for the Rückrunde. Sure, it is easy to say “don’t lose the faith”, but it is hard to envision a Neuer-less team win the Champions League.

So where does Bayern Munich go from here? Let’s take a look:

• Sven Ulreich: In-house and popular with his teammates, Ulreich is a fine fill-in. Can he win a Champions League? I’m not sure that is a scenario that Bayern Munich is willing to bet on.
• Johannes Schenk: Perhaps a player for the future, but definitely not one for the present.
• Alexander Nübel: Currently on loan with AS Monaco, both Nübel and Bayern Munich appear to want to make this happen, but AS Monaco will need to be paid. Moreover, Nübel has no interest in being on the same roster as Neuer, so this would be a short-term fix to say the least. It can be assumed that if Neuer does not retire (he says he won’t), Nübel will likely move on with another loan or a permanent transfer after this season.
• Dominik Livaković: The Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper was reportedly not on Bayern Munich’s radar before this World Cup, but now finds himself in the transfer crosshairs of the Bavarians.

What would I do? Damn...I guess shoot for Nübel, unless Livaković is available for a reasonable price. Truthfully, this news stripped some of my optimism about the Paris Saint-Germain tie.

If you want the full rundown of what is going on with Neuer, check out this post from our guy TeddySonMaverick.

Bayern wants Hernandez deal done ASAP (Bayern Insider Podcast via @iMiaSanMia)

Bayern Munich appears to be in a bit of a hurry to lock down Lucas Hernandez to a contract extension:

Hasan Salihamidžić is currently in intensive talks with the management of Lucas Hernández and still wants to extend his contract as soon as possible. Despite the injury, the club believes in Hernández and wants to continue with him.

Should he regain his burst after his ACL surgery, Hernandez should be able to pick up right where he left off. If, however, Hernandez does not regain that ability to quickly accelerate, he will have to learn how to play a different way positionally. Certainly, the Frenchman is smart enough to figure it out, but there is at least a little bit of risk associated in pledging to Hernandez in blind faith at this point.

That said, this appears to be a risk that Bayern Munich thinks is worth taking.

Coutinho moving on...again? (Sport1)

Philippe Coutinho probably should have never left Liverpool. Since that point, his career has been filled with short-term fixes for a longer-term problem:

After the first few weeks of the current season, it was still thought that Philippe Coutinho had finally found his fortune at Aston Villa. The Brazilian played regularly under coach Steven Gerrard - and he played well.

But apparently the Premier League club still wants to get rid of the 30-year-old offensive player, who played for Bayern for a year, in winter. According to a report by the Mirror, this is due to the new coach Unai Emery, who is more likely to rely on other stars.

Coutinho has already received a request from Flamengo. However, the Brazilian club is said to have a loan deal in mind, which Aston Villa is said to be out of the question. Coutinho just moved to the island from FC Barcelona in the summer of 2022 for a fee of 20 million euros, after previously kicking off a season on loan at the Villans.

I think (but am not positive) that Jurgen Klopp foretold this kind of thing happening to Coutinho. Where the hell is #EnglishTom when you need him for some useless Liverpool knowledge?

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 22 (Bavarian Football Works)

After a one-week hiatus (thanks to Schnitzel for running with a combination Weekend Warm-up Podcast/Postgame Show last week), I am here to talk all things Bayern Munich and Germany...and boy is there a lot to talk about.

With all of that said, let’s get down to it. Here is what we have on tap for this week’s loaded episode of the Weekend Warm-up:

• The aftermath of Germany’s flameout, who’s to blame, why the team failed, where to go from here.
• Other World Cup musings including Brazil’s incredible play, Spain’s failure, the rise to fame for Josko Gvardiol and Dayot Upamecano, and more.
• Bayern Munich’s rumored positional battles and what that means.
• The ridiculous Kingsley Coman for Christian Pulisic swap rumor.
• Bayern Munich’s decision to pass on Joao Felix.

Gunners eye Felix now after Bayern bows from race (The Boot Room)

Arsenal FC might be looking to jump into the sweepstakes for Atlético Madrid attacker Joao Felix:

Arsenal are in the mix to sign Atletico Madrid and Portugal striker Joao Felix and Bayern Munich might have just opened the door a bit more for the Gunners.

Felix is said to be in demand in January. He has fallen out of favour a tad with Atletico and the Portuguese is said to be open to moving away from the La Liga side.

Of course, a number of clubs will take Felix. He signed for Atletico for over £100m and has since starred for Portugal in Qatar. Arsenal are one of the clubs said to be keen, while Newcastle are also known to have shown an interest.

There have been rumors surrounding Felix for about a year now. Back when they first arose, it felt like nothing but aimless talk. Now, however, it feels like Atlético Madrid might actually sell its one-time phenom.

Clearing up those Bellingham transfer rumors (@Plettigoal)

According to Sky Sport’s Florian Plettenberg, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham’s future is still wide open. Liverpool FC, however, is likely the leader in the clubhouse to land the England international:

Bayern Alumni: Evina moves to Sandhausen (@SV_Sandhausen)

Former Bayern Munich prospect Franck Evina has transferred to SV Sandhausen from Hannover 96, where he was featuring for Hannover II:

“Franck proved his goal threat with the second team in Hanover. He also knows the second division, so it was obvious for us to sign him,” said SV Sandhausen sporting director Mikayil Kabaca (as captured by Sport1).

I guess now we know the true answer to our “What ever happened to...” feature on Evina.

This is pretty cool (@NottsCountyZone)

From the Notts vs. Maidenhead match:

Notts County won the match 4-3.