Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s hopes for Harry Kane growing dim?; Arsenal angling for Leroy Sané; Cristiano Ronaldo not going to Al-Nassr?; Tottenham Hotspur wants Josko Gvardiol; Real Madrid wants Jude Bellingham more than PSG’s Kylian Mbappe; & MORE

Romano says Spurs will go all out to keep Kane (This is Futbol)

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano does not think that it is likely that Bayern Munich will be able to convince Harry Kane to leave Tottenham Hotspur.

“I’ve seen stories about Harry Kane again, but there are no changes at all as of now,” Romano claimed in his Daily Briefing on Caught Offside. “Tottenham want to keep Kane and there are no negotiations ongoing, but also nothing would happen during the World Cup of course… so it’s completely quiet as of now. Bayern like Kane as Oliver Kahn stated, nothing else.”

Right now, it still feels like Kane-to-Bayern is a Bavarian pipedream.

Gunners still angling for Sané (Football 365)

Just a few days ago, we saw that Real Madrid had interest in Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané and now it looks like Arsenal FC wants to throw its hat in the ring as well:

Arsenal aren’t planning on signing any replacement for Gabriel Jesus, with the Brazil striker’s World Cup already over due to a knee injury, which some reports suggest could keep him sidelined for three months. The Gunners, however, are looking to spend around £50million in January, with a midfielder and a winger on their shopping list.

One potential target is Leroy Sane. Sane has worked with Mikel Arteta previously during their time together at Manchester City. But Bayern aren’t minded to sell; Sane isn’t looking to push for a move because he’s enjoying regular game time under Julian Nagelsmann; he almost certainly won’t move in January; and, regardless of the timing, it would take considerably more than £50million. TMW says Real Madrid are also sniffing around the 26-year-old as they seek a replacement for Marco Asensio, who looks set to leave the Bernabeu next summer as a free-agent.

The funny thing about this rumor is that it seemingly has come from nowhere. Sané does not appear to want to leave Bayern Munich and the club has given no indication that it would like to sell him off either.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 23 (Bavarian Football Works)

Well, Germany are out of the World Cup, and as a Bayern Munich fan it feels miserable to see how devastated everyone looks because of it. This elimination hits much harder after the disaster in 2018, and it could have serious implications for the club season coming up, especially in the Champions League.

In this episode, Fergus and INNN talk about the following:

• How much blame does Hansi Flick deserve for the elimination? Fergus and INNN argue two different positions.
• What effect did personnel issues — especially in defense — have on Germany’s performance?
• How Flick misused his Bayern Munich core this tournament, especially Thomas Muller.
• Addressing the role of the DFB in this debacle.
• Should Hansi Flick be the coach for Euro 2024?
• Did Germany have a mentality problem at World Cup 2022?
• Did Spain knock Germany out on purpose by losing to Japan?
• Moving onto another topic — can any Bayern Munich player still win the World Cup? Assessing France, Croatia, Morocco, and the Netherlands.
• How getting knocked out early could be an advantage for Bayern.
• The psychological impact of early eliminations at the World Cup.

Spurs eyeing Gvardiol, too (Corriere dello Sport via 90Min.com)

RB Leipzig defender and Croatia international Josko Gvardiol is rumored to have a major suitor in Chelsea FC, but now Tottenham Hotspur also might want to grab the 20-year-old star:

Tottenham are hoping to beat Chelsea to the signature of RB Leipzig centre-back Josko Gvardiol, who was a target for Antonio Conte early last summer.

Madrid wants Bellingham more than Mbappe (Fichajes)

If push came to shove for Real Madrid, the club would rather sign Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham instead of Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe:

In case of being able to consider the hiring of Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé next summer, the Real Madrid board of directors will give absolute priority to the signing of the English midfielder.

Since recruiting both players during the summer of 2023 seems almost unfeasible from an economic point of view (it could skyrocket to over €300 million), the Defensa Central portal makes it clear today that, if it can really get to the point of the club considering both operations, the Chamartín entity will give priority to the possible landing of the Englishman.

Weekend Warm-up + Postgame show (Bavarian Podcast Works)

Germany is officially out! Now, who didn’t see that coming?

Japan deservedly qualify, while Spain has Germany to thank for their qualification to the knockouts. Germany however, needs a lot of thought and a lot of changes before the next major tournament rolls in. A team that is a knockout stage regular has now become a regular at being knocked out of groups. How the mighty have fallen.

So is it complacency? Is it abysmal coaching decisions? This podcast looks at a few possible reasons that may be significant to Germany’s derailment as of late. Here’s what we have in store in this special edition podcast:

• Germany’s shortcomings, and the disappointing exit
• Spain looking quite toothless for large stretches
• Hansi Flick’s baffling decisions and stubborn approach
• Complacency being a key issue of this German NT squad
• Why Japan is a great team to root for in this tournament
• Hustle as a Netflix movie recommendation
• Some classical music talk: Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, et al.

Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia...or not? (@Plettigoal)

Sky’s Florian Plettenberg is not quite buying the rumor linking Cristiano Ronaldo to Al-Nassr: