Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich to make power swoop for FC Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong?; Alexander Nübel balking at Bayern return; Jamal Musiala wows at World Cup; Liverpool eyeing Josko Gvardiol; Juventus scoping Chelsea’s Mason Mount?; & MORE!

Bayern back in on De Jong? (Sport via The Sun)

Could Bayern Munich be back in the running for FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong? According to Sport (as captured by The Sun), De Jong would be tempted by a move to the Bundesliga:

Manchester United and Chelsea target Frenkie de Jong could snub a move to England in favour of joining Bayern Munich, according to reports. The Dutchman was heavily linked with the Prem duo in the recent window although he ended up staying with Barcelona.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, the midfielder wants to stay at the Nou Camp. However, Bayern Munich, another who were interested in the summer, are hoping to take advantage of Barcelona’s financial mess. And the report claims the ex-Ajax star would be “tempted” by a switch to the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, Bayern are “convinced” that Barcelona might be forced to sell next summer, with another year off his contract likely to make for a more reasonable price.

It sounds...ridiculous, but humor me. What if Julian Nagelsmann is toying with a move to a 4-3-3? That would allow Bayern Munich potentially take advantage of FC Barcelona’s innate desire to make money off of a quality player who is likely to move on eventually anyway.

Would the Catalans be interested in unloading De Jong at a cut-rate deal? Right now, the answer to that is extremely unclear, but Bayern Munich is surely keeping all options open.

Nübel not feeling Bayern return (Get French Football News)

Bayern Munich loanee and AS Monaco starting goalkeeper Alexander Nübel just does not seem to be inclined to return to Bavaria at this point:

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (26), who has been on loan at AS Monaco since the beginning of the 2021/22 season, is unkeen on a potential recall, according to sources contacted by Get French Football News.

As he was back in September, Nübel remains unkeen on a return to Bavaria, unless certain conditions are met. If he is to go back, he wants playing time assurances post-Neuer injury. In addition, he is enjoying his time at Monaco and loves working with the club’s goalkeeper coach Frederic De Boever, whom he credits with transforming his career. Bayern Munich’s attempts to recall Nübel are therefore creating a tense and uncomfortable situation for all involved in the deal.

Nübel has some bad blood with Bayern Munich, but he is the one who signed the deal when Manuel Neuer was already the entrenched starter legend, right?

Moose is making people notice (@WhoScored)

Check this stat out on Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show — Season 5, Episode 24 (Bavarian Football Works)

In this episode of the flagship show, Tom answered questions from Twitter and discussed:

• Is it time for someone to replace Neuer as the #1 keeper for Germany?
• What will Neuer’s leg break mean for Bayern’s goalkeeping situation?
• The future state of Bayern’s back line.
• Whether or not Hansi Flick should utilize some more younger players for Germany.
• Whether or not the short World Cup prep affected Germany/teams that went far in Qatar.
• The importance of Germany getting and finding more natural strikers.
• How academies can help produce more strikers and center-backs.

LFC eyeing Gvardiol (@RudyGaletti)

It looks like Chelsea FC and Manchester City are not the only Premier League clubs who want RB Leipzig and Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol:

Modric doesn’t hold back (@ESPNFC)

You know...he’s not wrong:

Juve to make a play for Mount? (Calciomercato via 90Min.com)

Despite all of the turmoil at the club, could Juventus be toying with the idea of making a lucrative offer for Chelsea FC star Mason Mount? Well, at least one report thinks so:

Juventus are attempting to raise funds through the sale of three players in order to lodge an acceptable bid for Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount.

There is no way Chelsea would let Mount leave — and what (relatively) big name player is making the jump to Juventus right now with all of the upheaval going on?