Daily Schmankerl: Real Madrid eyeing Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano; AC Milan, Everton, Arsenal to chase Luka Jovic?; Bayern probably not pursuing Paulo Dybala; Bayern scoping another midfielder?; and MORE!

Madrid eyeing Upamecano? (Sport Bild)

According to a report out of France, Real Madrid is interested in bringing in Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano. Yes, the same Upamecano who the Bavarians just brought in lats summer:

As the French newspaper “Le10Sport” reports, Real Madrid have their eye on Dayot Upamecano (23). Accordingly, the royals want to bring the French central defender to Spain in the summer.

At Real, Upamecano should increase the variability on the defensive. Coach Carlo Ancelotti (62) has sorted out Marcelo (33) and Miguel Gutierrez (20), plays in central defense almost continuously with David Alaba (29) and Eder Militao (24). Nacho Fernandez (32), actually also a central defender, mostly helps out either on the right or left flank.

Would Bayern Munich really consider selling Upamecano at this point? It does not appear so:

According to information from SPORT BILD, Bayern will definitely not give up the French international (debut in September 2020, six appearances). The Munich team invested a whopping EUR 41.5 million in Upamecano last summer and gave him a long-term contract until 2026. Coach Julian Nagelsmann (34) keeps emphasizing that the defender is a player with great potential who he wants to give the necessary time.

Bayern probably not interested in Dybala this time around (Tz)

We have heard for years that Bayern Munich would love the chance to bring in Juventus star Paulo Dybala. Now, however, the Argentinian is available and the Bavarians are like to take a pass:

As Juve managing director Maurizio Arrivabene told several Italian media on Monday, the club will not offer the 28-year-old, whose working paper expires in June, a new contract. “With the signing of Vlahovic , his position was no longer that crucial. That’s why we decided not to extend the contract,” Arrivabene was quoted as saying. Dybala has been at Juve since 2015 and was appointed vice-captain earlier this season.

In recent years, there have been a number of rumors surrounding Dybala’s possible signing. The former boss Rummenigge was considered a big fan - the offensive artist never ended up in Munich. Maybe now that he’s available on a free transfer? It is very unlikely that sports director Hasan Salihamidzic will pick up the phone and call the star player of his former club.

The problem that Rummenigge once described himself: “His performance is too variable.” In addition, Dybala is prone to injury and used to a high salary. Since it was extended in 2017, he has collected around seven million euros a year, and in October 2021 there was said to have been an agreement with Juve that they wanted to extend the contract that expires in 2022 - at that time there was talk of net earnings of eight million euros including bonus payments . Those responsible have now decided to take the offer off the table.

I’d take a hard pass on Dybala. Too expensive, too redundant to what Bayern Munich already has on the roster.

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 41

Bayern Munich had an absolutely crazy week off of the pitch.

Aside of another frustrating Bundesliga effort against Hoffenheim, the major storylines were flowing for Bayern Munich. There was no shortage of things to talk about and this is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Niklas Süle’s injury, why it is a massive loss, and how this will give fans a preview for what life on the backline will look like next season.
• The lack of movement on Bayern Munich’s list of transfer targets.
• Understanding why Julian Nagelsmann might be unhappy with his roster and why there is a reason for concern that a gap exists between the coaching staff and front office.
• Erling Haaland’s rumored move to Manchester City appears to be getting closer.
• Why Robert Lewandowski feels disrespected and how re-upping him holds a key to the future.

Madrid to get more serious about Lewy move? (The 4th Official)

With Erling Haaland rumored to be passing on Real Madrid, Los Blancos might be getting more serious about a pursuit of Robert Lewandowski:

Fichajes has recently reported that Real Madrid are trailing Liverpool in pursuit of Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski. It has been claimed that Los Blancos do not have the financial power to compete with the Reds in the race to land the Polish superstar.

Real Madrid should think about stepping up their efforts to sign Lewandowski, especially if they fail to recruit Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

The Bayern Munich centre-forward would serve as an excellent, short-term signing and could even help the Madrid giants win the UEFA Champions League trophy once again in the coming seasons. He could even serve as an ideal replacement for Karim Benzema if Carlo Ancelotti decides to move him on in the summer.

The Polish talent will add plenty of goals to Los Blancos‘ frontline and might bring even more silverware back to the Spanish capital in the future. At 33, Lewandowski has got a few good years left in him and could be a brilliant addition to Ancelotti’s match-day squad if Los Blancos can find a way to fund a move for him at the end of this campaign.

The situation with Lewandowski is odd. Everything just seems to be on simmer for now, but I’d expect things to start to heat up once we hit April. If Bayern Munich is still not engaged in talks with Pini Zahavi at that time, we will probably start seeing a lot more serious reports linking the Poland international to Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, etc.

This is cool (@brfootball)

FC Bayern Frauen player Sarah Zadrazil is a BFW favorite and played a big part of this awesome video ahead of the huge UWCL match between the Frauen and Paris Saint-Germain:

The Frauen ended up dropping a 2-1 decision to PSG.

Bayern in on Camara? (Diario AS via @iMiaSanMia)

Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid are reportedly interested in Red Bull Salzburg midfielder Mohamed Camara:

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Special Edition — Bayern Munich draw Villarreal + Champions League brackets (Bavarian Football Works)

The Champions League draw just concluded today and it’s official — Bayern Munich will face Villarreal CF in the quarter-finals. Not only that but UEFA served up some juicy ties this year in the form of brackets, with teams like Real Madrid, Chelsea FC, Manchester City, and Atletico Madrid all facing each other. Plenty to talk about, as well as a dreaded potential reunion with Liverpool.

Here are our talking points from the draw:

• What do we actually know about Villarreal CF?
• INNN watched them knock out Juventus and he explains how they did it.
• Schnitzel and INNN discuss what Villarreal could do to exploit Bayern’s weaknesses.
• Will Unai Emery play the same way, or will he change his tactics to deal with Nagelsmann?
• Onto the other side of the bracket — Liverpool or Benfica, who will win? (Hint: Probably the one you think.)
• And then the other brackets. Can Chelsea beat Real Madrid? Will Pep overthink vs Simeone?
• A final note on the Villareal game and our expectations/concerns.
• How Villarreal’s big game experience could help them beat Bayern.

Jovic’s time at Madrid nearing an end (Sport1)

It appears that Luka Jovic’s time with Real Madrid might finally be coming to an end. AC Milan, Arsenal FC, and Everton are all reportedly interested in the former Eintracht Frankfurt star:

Luka Jovic’s time at Real Madrid seems to be coming to an end. The 24-year-old Serb does not play a role in the plans of coach Carlo Ancelotti, who once wanted to bring him to Naples. He hasn’t played a minute since playing for a quarter of an hour against Villarreal on 12 February. Karim Benzema’s recurring injury problems have not changed that either.

The former fan favorite from Frankfurt does not like this at all. He recently expressed his displeasure on Instagram. He liked a posted photo by Buta Sport, a Serbian media outlet showing himself and also rarely used Real Madrid stars Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale with a thoughtful emoji underneath.

According to Spanish Marca, Los Blancos are already exploring the market and looking for possible buyers for the striker. There should already be some interested parties. The two Premiere League clubs Arsenal and Everton have therefore expressed interest, and AC Milan are said to have kept an eye on Jovic. There is also speculation about renewed interest from the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund is looking for a Haaland replacement, writes Marca, but already has a potential successor in mind in Karim Adeyemi from RB Salzburg. So far, no official talks have been held between those responsible for Real.

Jovic’s story is a classic too much, too soon tale. In the end, he was not ready for a move to Real Madrid and the club really had no plans for how to best integrate him into the squad effectively.

Jovic’s story should be a cautionary lesson about how “fit” might be more important than anything when considering a transfer.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Bayern Munich 4-0 Union Berlin (Bavarian Football Works)

Make no mistake - Union Berlin are among the most defensively solid sides in the Bundesliga. In fact, they were ranked 4th best among all BuLi sides in the defensive aspects of football heading into this tie. Bayern Munich had other ideas.

Nagelsmann’s choices seemed near-perfect in what was an absolute tactical masterclass and a dominant performance from the Bavarians. Union Berlin pressed ferociously and defended with everything they had in the early minutes, but quickly fell prey to the mean Bavarian attacking machine, getting hammered 4-0 in the process.

Here are the talking points from the game:

• Union Berlin’s style of play, and how Nagelsmann countered it
• Nianzou with a great performance... Stanisic quite solid, but still quite raw
• Bayern’s brilliant attack, Lewandowski is unstoppable
• A very good defensive effort (and a CLEAN SHEET!!!!)
• Neuer’s underrated contributions
• Midfield looking in control... Musiala growing into the 8 role?
• Overall assessment + looking forward

Richards returns to training (@tsghoffenheimEN)

Bayern Munich loanee Chris Richards has returned to training with Hoffenheim after missing time with a foot injury:

Bayern inks Gladbach youngster (@Plettigoal)

Bayern Munich bought 13-year-old Borussia Monchengladbach star Mike Wisdom. The total cost for Wisdom would end up at about €300,000:

Some would say....signing Wisdom...was a smart move: