Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s Niklas Süle was not going abroad unless he received huge offer; PSG to make a play for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland; Manuel Akanji to Manchester United?; and MORE!

Süle demanded more money to play outside of Germany (Inside Futbol)

It seems like Bayern Munich defender Niklas Süle was not going to leave Germany unless a foreign club was going to make him very rich:

Niklas Süle, who was wanted by Chelsea and Newcastle United, asked for more money from non-German clubs than he has accepted at Borussia Dortmund. Sule is out of contract at Bayern Munich this coming summer and his situation sparked fierce interest in securing his services from a host of clubs.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel wanted to take Süle to Stamford Bridge, while Newcastle were also keen on landing the highly rated defender. Süle has disappointed his Premier League suitors by choosing to remain within the Bundesliga with an agreement to sign for Borussia Dortmund in the summer. The defender though is accepting less money at Dortmund than he demanded from non-German sides, according to Transfermarkt.

Süle’s move to Borussia Dortmund has caused a cascade of emotions from the fan base and will undoubtedly be a theme for discussion throughout the second half of the season.

PSG eyeing Haaland (Sport1)

Paris Saint-Germain seems to be resigned to Kylian Mbappe leaving the club and if that happens, the Parisians will reportedly take a run at Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland:

In addition to the unclear future of Robert Lewandowski, two attackers in particular will be in the focus of the top clubs next summer: Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland. While the former is very popular with Real Madrid, Haaland could compensate for his departure from Paris Saint-Germain - at least if those responsible for PSG have their way.

As L’Equipe has now reported, President Nasser Al-Khelaifi is said to have already held talks with Mino Raiola about a possible transfer of the Norwegian to the French capital. Accordingly, the BVB striker should be the first choice when looking for a Mbappé replacement should he actually leave the club.

The speculated 75 million euros transfer fee for Erling Haaland would be manageable given the youngster’s hit rates, even if the Parisians are far from the only interested parties. Haaland himself recently announced that he wanted to decide on his future by March. The football world will have to be patient until a possible transfer bomb is announced.

Haaland’s motivation (Money? Location? Trophies? Weather?) for a move has yet to be revealed, but he would he hard-pressed to find many other clubs that could give him the salary that PSG will be able to provide.

Rangnick eyeing Akanji? (United Focus)

With Niklas Süle headed to Dortmund, Manuel Akanji could be looking to exit the club. Manchester United is reportedly among the clubs interested:

Niklas Süle’s freshly agreed summer move from Bayern Munich to Borussia Dortmund has caused a stir in Germany.

As we previously outlined, the centre-back’s switch makes it even more likely defender Dan-Axel Zagadou will leave as a free agent in the summer, a player German outlet Fussball Transfers reported United made contact with during January.

An even better option could become available. German channel Sport1 report Manuel Akanji is unsettled by Süle’s upcoming arrival and less likely to now extend his contract which expires in 2023. The outlet claim Ralf Rangnick is ‘very interested’ in Akanji and could recommend United make a move in the summer.

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works — Reaction show: Bayern Munich’s Niklas Süle moves to Borussia Dortmund (Bavarian Football Works)

Wow...so the news finally dropped and Bayern Munich fans had to feel stunned that it became official: Niklas Süle is transferring to Bundesliga rival Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window.

Join us as we react to the deal and how we feel like it all got to this point. At one point, Süle seemed fit to play the role of generational center-back for both Bayern Munich and Germany, but something went off the rails along the way.

What led Süle to move to Borussia Dortmund — especially when his salary might be the same as he was offered at Bayern Munich? What happened to the rumored big pay days that were going to be on the way from clubs like Chelsea FC or Newcastle United? Most importantly, how did we get to this point, where the player who has arguably been the team’s best defender will leave for free?

Frauen selected for Team of the Week (@FootballEngine1)

Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir, Lina Magull, and Jovana Damnjanovic all were named to Football Engine’s Team of the Week:

Interesting graphic (@dw_sports)

This was an interesting compilation of net spending by Bundesliga clubs:

Anderlecht wants permanent deal with Zirkzee (Football-Oranje)

Joishua Zirkzee has made such a positive impact at Anderlecht that the Belgian club wants to make him a permanent member of the squad:

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Anderlecht are hoping to keep Bayern Munich loanee Joshua Zirkzee for longer. The Dutch striker is currently on loan with the Belgian side until the end of the season and has impressed with 14 goals and eight assists in all competitions.

The loan option that Anderlecht has with Bayern Munich does not include a clause to make it permanent, but Het Nieuwsblad are reporting that the club is hoping to keep Zirkzee for longer.

Zirkzee only has one year left on his deal with Bayern Munich and the Bavarian side are expected to ask for a hefty fee to sell the striker. That could prove to be too much for Anderlecht, who would be hoping to agree on a second loan deal.

It remains to be seen whether Zirkzee would be open to staying with Anderlecht or if the Netherlands U21 international would want a new challenge.

The issue for Anderlecht might be that Bayern Munich is reportedly looking to sell Zirkzee for €8 million to €10 million and the Belgians will not be able to pay that sum.

Hoffmann absence no cause for concern (Chronicle Live)

Bayern Munich loan Thorben Hoffman (formerly Ron-Thorben Hoffman) missed Sundaerland’s last match, which fueled speculation that he might have bene headed back to Germany, but the club says that is not the case:

Thorben Hoffmann missed Sunderland’s defeat at Cheltenham due to illness, it has been confirmed.

The on-loan Bayern Munich goalkeeper was a surprise absentee at Whaddon Road, with no information given by the club ahead of time that he would not feature, and with backup Lee Burge also out of action, academy graduate Anthony Patterson started against the Robins with Jacob Carney promoted from the U23s as back-up.

Hoffmann’s absence led to speculation on social media that he had been recalled by Bayern as cover for their injured number one Manuel Neuer - but that was a non-starter, given that the transfer window is currently closed.

And following the game interim boss Mike Dodds said that Hoffmann, who contracted Covid at the beginning of January, had undergone blood tests to diagnose this latest problem.

“Thorben has not gone back to Germany, I can confirm that,” said Dodds. “We felt that Anthony Patterson had trained really, really well so I don’t want to take the focus away from him, an academy boy who had earned that opportunity to play and who deserved the opportunity to play.