Daily Schmankerl: FC Barcelona has price for Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard; Real Madrid confident on BVB’s Jude Bellingham; Dusan Vlahović headed to England in January?; Bayern boys belt out Jingle Bells; Manchester United’s next goalkeeper?; & MORE!

Barca has price in mind to offer for Pavard (Barca Universal)

FC Barcelona is working with the belief that it will only have to pay a paltry sum of €15 million for Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard:

At this point, it is very well-established that Barcelona are in the market for a new right-back. While there were plans to sign a player for the position in the January window itself, the club’s Financial Fair Play issues have meant that Xavi will have to wait until the summer for a reinforcement.

Several targets have been identified by the Blaugrana, but all come with their own issues. Diogo Dalot had been one of the preferred options but Manchester United have triggered a one-year extension for the Portuguese and wish to keep him at the club for a long time.

Juan Foyth of Villarreal was also a target, but his price tag has seemingly put Barça off his pursuit. It has left the Catalan giants with Bayern Munich ace Benjamin Pavard as one of the leading options to reinforce the right-back slot, reports SPORT.

The 26-year-old defender is at loggerheads with his Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann and is set to depart at the end of the season, with the Bavarian giants happy to grant him an exit. They have also identified Malo Gusto of Lyon as a possible replacement.

And, as per the report, Pavard could be available for a fee of as little as €15 million, given that his contract with the Bundesliga champions expires in 2024.

At this point, it appears that Pavard is moving on, but that seems awfully cheap for such a good and versatile player. If FC Barcelona only has to pay €15 million it would be an absolute steal.

United to pursue Martinez (Football Insider)

Bayern Munich was briefly linked to Argentina’s World Cup winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, but now it appears as if Manchester United is the frontrunner for his services:

Man United have a “concrete” interest in signing Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, sources have told Football Insider. The Premier League giants are assessing potential candidates to replace long-term number one David de Gea.

The Spaniard, 32, is out of contract next summer and United have yet to trigger the 12-month extension to his mega-money deal.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 2, Episode 24

Ah, the holidays — a time to appreciate everything that has happened over the course of a particular year.

We will do a little bit of that a whole lot of Bayern Munich talk on this episode, so why not get right to it. Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this episode:

• The latest on Bayern Munich’s goalkeeper situation. Who will replace Manuel Neuer...Alexander Nübel? Sven Ulreich? Yann Sommer? The Bavarians are trying to get this all resolved quickly.
• Joshua Kimmich’s likely move to being captain and that story about his altercation at the World Cup in Qatar.
• The rise of Arijon Ibrahimović and the potential loan of Paul Wanner.
• The latest on Bayern Munich’s striker search.
• What Bayern Munich should ask Santa Claus for?
• A thank you to the Bavarian Podcast Works listeners.

Madrid confident on Bellingham move (The Sun)

Real Madrid is reportedly confident that it has done enough to win the Jude Bellingham sweepstakes over Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea FC, and Paris Saint-Germain:

Real Madrid believe they have won the race to sign Jude Bellingham in a £100million-plus deal. The teenage England star has the pick of LaLiga giants Real, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.

But Carlo Ancelotti’s Real have become increasingly confident that, after courting him throughout 2022, Bellingham, 19, will snub a Premier League move and make a big switch to Spain next summer.

Liverpool are desperate to sign him, with manager Jurgen Klopp believing that Borussia Dortmund ace Bellingham — who enjoyed a fine World Cup with England — will soon become the world’s best midfielder.

Vlahović could make January move to Premier League (Corriere dello Sport via 90Min.com)

Juventus star Dusan Vlahović’s potential transfer this winter is looking more and more likely. Arsenal FC, Chelsea FC, and Manchester United are all in the mix:

The agent of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic has suggested that his client could move to the Premier League in January, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all interested.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Special Edition — Wrapping up the World Cup and breaking down Germany’s poor showing (Bavarian Football Works)

No Bayern Munich players walked out of Qatar with championship medal, but that does not mean the World Cup was uneventful or not worthwhile.

The tournament was a fun, rollicking, and sometimes unpredictable affair that ultimately saw Lionel Messi finalize his case to be known as the G.O.A.T., France make an unbelievable comeback in the finale led by its own superstar, Kylian Mbappe, and most pertinent here, Germany flail and fail its way home far earlier than it should have.

We dusted off former BFW podcaster/writer and current Daily Mail scribe Jake Fenner for a special edition to talk about the tourney’s big happenings. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at the fantastic finale — and why Argentina deserved to win.
• Lionel Messi’s strong claim to being the best ever.
• Kylian Mbappe’s growth as a leader.
• Germany’s massive flame out, where things go from here, and why some fans might have missed Timo Werner.

Felix sweepstakes growing (Goal via 90Min.com)

The transfer market for Atlético Madrid star Joao Felix is starting to grow as Chelsea FC, Manchester United, Arsenal FC, Aston Villa, and Paris Saint-Germain are all reportedly in the running:

Diego Simeone has insisted that while Joao Felix is important to his plans, no one in his Atletico Madrid squad is indispensable. The Portugal forward has been touted as a target for Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, PSG and Aston Villa.

Accordng to Onda Cero, FC Barcelona also wants in on Felix, but probably can’t make it happen financially.

Bayern Boys belt out “Jingle Bells” (FCBayern.com)

This is great, but also sooooo funny:

I literally cannot imagine what the video would look like if we tried to do this with the BFW staff.