Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich battling Arsenal, Manchester City on Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix?; Arsenal fans don’t want Robert Lewandowski; Erling Haaland commit to Real Madrid?; Ajax’s Antony was never headed to Bayern; and MORE!

Bayern competing with Arsenal, City for Felix? (The Hard Tackle)

In what can only be considered as absolutely crazy, Bayern Munich has been linked with Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix:

Bayern Munich are ready to rival Arsenal and Manchester City in the race to sign Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix. According to a report from Fichajes, Atletico Madrid are bracing themselves for a busy summer ahead, with Joao Felix among the players likely to leave the club. The attacker’s uncertain future has already put multiple clubs on red alert as they look to prise the Portuguese away from Wanda Metropolitano.

Of all of the recent rumors we have seen, this might be the craziest. We know that Bayern Munich had interest in Felix in the past, but it seems very unlikely that the Bavarians would engage in this kind of move.

Felix is valued at €60 million by Transfermarkt and that would seem to be a huge investment for Bayern Munich at this stage. Even if Bayern Munich was to fail to reach an agreement with Serge Gnabry, Felix feels way too expensive for Die Roten.

Arsenal fans reject idea of lewy move (@TheGoonerTalkTv)

Arsenal fans were polled on Twitter to see if they would be accepting of a mega-move for Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski:

Kind of amazing a fan base could be so...confused (?) about the greatness of Lewandowski. The Pole would instantly make them a better team.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 39 (Bavarian Football Works)

As Bayern Munich’s squad prepares for a big Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen, the club was extremely active in the papers with a variety of stories involving the squad planning for next season.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at why Bayern Munich needs to step up its communication game with Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller, and others to avoid another Niklas Süle fiasco.
• The latest list of candidates to play right wing-back for Julian Nagelsmann next season.
• A few thoughts on why Bayern Munich might not need to spend money on Arminia Bielefeld’s Stefan Ortega.
• The potential for a starting three-man center-back crew of Lucas Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, and Benjamin Pavard for next season.

Antony never a serious option for Bayern (Sport1)

Last summer, we saw Bayern Munich linked to Ajax winger Antony, but the player’s agent insists that nothing was ever really all that serious:

SPORT1 knows that the name of the Ajax Amsterdam winger was actually already being discussed on Säbener Straße – most recently last summer, when Kingsley Coman was briefly said to be farewell. However, the topic was never hot. And it isn’t now.

Video highlights of the Bundesliga match day from Monday midnight in the SPORT1 media center and in the SPORT1 app

Antony consultant Junior Pedroso says at SPORT1 about the Bayern rumors: “We don’t know anything about that. No one from FC Bayern approached me or my partners to talk about Antony.”

The rumored price was in the neighborhood of €30 million for the Brazilian, which seems way too high for a player who would have been the fourth or fifth winger option on the roster.

AS think Haaland is set for Madrid (Sport1)

Reports out of Spain indicate that Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland has decided to join Real Madrid:

According to the Spanish newspaper AS, the Norwegian from Borussia Dortmund has expressed his desire to play for Real. The as learned that from the striker’s environment. However, Haaland does not want to wait until 2023, as Madrid and BVB hope, but to go this summer.

The report goes on to say that the past few hours have been “hectic” - and that Haaland was presented with an offer that would allow him to stay in Dortmund until 2023. However, with the salary that the attacker then received in Madrid. However, the Haaland side prefers a different plan.

A final meeting about Haaland’s future, which his father, advisor Mino Raiola and BVB should also attend, is planned for the second half of March. Then a “fierce bidding war” could begin. Haaland’s contract in Dortmund runs until June 2024, but he can leave BVB with an exit clause.

Despite this report, Haaland’s future remains up in the air. The Norwegian has multiple potential suitors checking in on him (even Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn). The Bavarians are no doubt doing their due diligence and “staying in the game” with Haaland given the somewhat uncertain status of Robert Lewandowski’s contract negotiations.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich will host Bayer Leverkusen in what should be a very intriguing Bundesliga match-up.

The Rekordmeister sits in first place, while Die Werkself is 14 points behind the pace-setters in third place. Certainly, a win for Leverkusen would be a huge boost the squad.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at where each team sits in the table and the recent form of the two clubs.
• Why Bayern Munich fans want to keep an eye on both Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong.
• How Bayern Munich might line-up — which could change a million times because of all of the uncertain statuses for Julian Nagelsmann’s squad.
• A prediction on the match.