Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich still chasing Erling Haaland despite budget woes?; Inter Milan leads on Gleison Bremer; FC Barcelona’s offer to Noussair Mazraoui detailed; Sergio Ramos is stealing money from PSG; and MORE!

Hot or not? Expert says Bayern is, indeed, still pursuing Haaland (@JanAageFjortoft)

Sport1 journalist Kerry Hau indicated that Bayern Munich’s desire to pursue Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland was not “hot”, but a source close to Haaland’s camp says that the Bavarians are very much a factor in the battle for the Norwegian star.

Jan Aage Fjortoft is a “family friend” of Team Haaland and is insisting that Bayern Munich is still in the game:

Inter leads Bayern on Bremer (Football Italia)

Inter Milan leads the pack on a pursuit of Torino’s Gleison Bremer and it looks more and more like Bayern Munich will miss the boat on the Brazilian:

Inter have added Torino defender Gleison Bremer to the top of their wish list and they have a plan to beat out a number of interested clubs for his signature.

The 24-year-old Brazilian defender is having strong season with the Granata, performing well in the 1-1 draw against the Nerazzurri yesterday and scoring a key goal in the match. Yesterday’s draw fully convinced the Milanese club of his talents and now they’re desperate to secure their man.

As reported by TuttoMercatoWeb, Inter are hoping that the idea of sending Torino a player or two in exchange for Bremer will convince them of a deal. Options for this range from Andrea Pinamonti to Martin Satriano and goalkeeper Ionut Radu.

The Granata want €30m for the Brazilian defender and the interest of Bayern Munich, Juventus, AC Milan, Tottenham and Liverpool suggests that Torino president Urbano Cairo will hold an auction in the summer in order to find the highest offer.

As much as Bayern Munich might need a center-back, there is enough smoke to know there is fire when it comes to the squad planning budget. No need to gamble that much on a player whose best hope is to project to good things.

Any acquisition where a fee will need to be paid has to be a sure thing at this point.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 40 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich’s week was filled with craziness. A lackluster effort against Bayer Leverkusen was followed by a thoroughly dominant win over Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League.

The news for the club followed a similar up-and-down pattern. The word on injuries was great, but the transfer news was...surprising. Here is what we have on tap to discuss this week:

• The bad break that Bayern Munich’s Plan A in the transfer looks like it has failed: Chelsea center-back looks like he’ll sign with FC Barcelona.
• The Plan B options are not necessarily going to excite many fans as Gleison Bremer and Matthias Ginter could be the next men up.
• It seems like Bayern Munich has some squad planning and budget issues that are weighing on the folks at Säbener Straße.
• The tricky situation surrounding Robert Lewandowski.
• Why thew rumored replacements for Lewandowski probably won’t come to fruition.

Bavarian Grass Works — International: Pep goes full Nagelsmann in grass complaints (@goal)

Former Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola learned a lot while in Bavaria — including how to subtly throw shade at an opponent’s grounds crew. Just days after Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann lashed out at Hoffenheim’s pitch, ol’ Pep threw some lawn darts at Crystal Palace’s turf experts:

Details on Barca’s offer to Mazraoui (@FabrizioRomano)

We can say that Ajax star Noussair Mazraoui probably just preferred moving to FC Barcelona, but I wonder if Bayern Munich was really even in the running and just how much the club was willing to pay the Moroccan?

The salary figures reported by Fabrizio Romano might have been cost prohibitive for the Bavarians:

Sport1’s Patrick Berger had even more specific information on the offer:

Good work if you can get it (Fussball Transfers)

Sergio Ramos is just pillaging Paris Saint-Germain’s budget from his couch:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Hoffenheim 1-1 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

After a midweek break against RB Salzburg, the negative vibes are back as Bayern Munich have once again drawn a Bundesliga game. Just like last time, this game against Hoffenheim was a nightmare in terms of finishing for both sides — Thomas Muller was offside twice, Gnabry hit the post, Manuel Neuer made some great saves, and Robert Lewandowski is the only one who scored. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much good on display.

Here are our talking points from the game:

• The dark side of the back-three, a reality check after Salzburg. Wingers are not wingbacks!
• Musiala is not playing the Thiago role, so what is he supposed to be doing?
• The problem with the midfield in terms of structure.
• Kingsley Coman remains one of our most important players.
• The absolute nightmare Thomas Muller had in terms of finishing.
• The massive xG problem Nagelsmann has — will this be acceptable in Europe?
• Once again, Nagelsmann gets his substitutions wrong. Muller never should’ve been subbed.
• Is the Bundesliga at risk now?

Götze still dreaming of UCL glory (Sport1)

PSV Eindhoven star and former Bayern Munich player Mario Götze is still chasing a Champions League title:

Mario Götze has not yet written off his career goal of winning the Champions League. In an interview with Sports Illustrated , however, he emphasized that he would like to win the handle pot, but does not have to win for better or for worse.

“I’ve just made the step from the Bundesliga to Holland to see and experience something new. To date, I only knew the Bundesliga, in which I played for ten years,” said Götze.

Due to the goal mentioned above, “I would like to play at the highest level in Europe first,” said Götze. “Preferably in Italy or Spain. The Premier League, with its balanced league, appeals to me too.”

It seems like Götze is going to try to make one last move to a Champions League contender. In Julian Nagelsmann’s back-three based formation, could Götze be a cheap, reliable back-up as one of the attacking midfielders?

Burki to...St. Louis? (Transfermarkt)

It looks like Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki is headed to MLS:

Fabrizio Romano also chimed in on the matter as well:

I don’t know why, but this made me think of the old 1992 movie Trespass starring Ice-T, Ice Cube, Bill Paxton (!?), and William Sadler. Picturing Burki in an abandoned building in East St. Louis trying to outmaneuver gang leaders for a treasure of gold (yup, f’n gold!) somehow entered my warped mind.

If you have never seen that flick, I won’t tell you it’s worth it, but if you really need to kill 104 minutes, you could do worse (as long as you go in knowing you are not going to see an Oscar-worthy film).

Has anyone else seen that? Let me know in the comments.

Booth bangs beauty (@fcbayerncampus)

Check out this goal from Taylor Booth against SC Eltersdorf during Bayern Munich II’s 5-1 victory: