Daily Schmankerl: The four reasons Robert Lewandowski is considering leaving Bayern Munich; Manchester United chasing Sebastien Haller?; Real Madrid’s Luka Jovic has options in Germany; Mo Salah leaving Liverpool?; and MORE!

The four reasons Lewy wants to leave Bayern (The Express)

For anyone wondering why Robert Lewandowski might want to leave Bayern Munich, The Express was there to compile the top four reasons. The big debate here was to list them as The Express did — or do a David Letterman style rundown.

With only four, however, we just listed them as presented by the English outlet, especially because these have all been bandied about at one time or another:

The first, is that he feels Bayern haven’t made a big push to keep him.

Secondly, Lewandowski supposedly doesn’t feel ‘comfortable’ playing under Julian Nagelsmann.

Thirdly, Lewandowski knows Bayern are eyeing an ambitious deal for Erling Haaland.

The fourth reason the 33-year-old wants to depart is because of Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Benzema has been in unnerving form this term and Los Blancos have no intention of replacing their skipper. Lewandowski has taken note of Madrid’s stance and wants similar treatment as he enters the twilight years of his career.

As stated, we kind of knew a lot of this already, but it does seem as if Lewandowski has a few bones to pick with Bayern Munich. Surely, each reason has at least a modicum of merit, but it is unclear what issues are most important to the striker.

Haller to United? (Sport1)

Erik ten Hag might be looking to bring striker Sebastien Haller with him to Manchester United. Haller, of course, was linked to Bayern Munich this week as a potential replacement for Robert Lewandowski:

Sébastien Haller is in great demand. Not only FC Bayern should be interested in the striker from Ajax Amsterdam - in the event of a Lewandowski departure - but also Manchester United. The Sun reports.

Ajax coach Erik ten Hag will join the Red Devils in the summer and is said to be interested in taking his current top striker to Manchester. According to the English tabloid, a commitment could be made if the transfer fee is £35 million (about 41.5 million euros). Haller has two years left on his contract in Amsterdam and has scored 33 goals in 39 games for Ajax this season.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Mainz 05 vs. Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich has already clinched the Bundesliga title for the season, but there are still three games to go.

The Bavarians will squad off against a pesky Mainz 05 squad and Julian Nagelsmann could deviate from his normal set of starters in an attempt to give the club a chance to look at some of the lesser used boys, along with a few youngsters.

Nagelsmann’s player management will be the focal point for the match, but there is more to talk about as well, so this is what we have on tap:

• A look at where each team is in the table.
• Some squad news on Bayern Munich.
• A guess at what Julian Nagelsmann is going to do and who he is going to play.
• A prediction on the match.

Friedl to move on from Bremen? (kicker)

Former Bayern Munich defender Marco Friedl has been one of squad’s best performers this season and could be moving on from Werder Bremen:

Marco Friedl is a top performer at Werder Bremen, but was on the verge of a change after relegation. The 24-year-old will decide his future again in the summer, but staying in Bremen is only realistic if they are promoted again. Friedl’s ambitions with regard to the Austrian national team and the market’s interest in a player who is still capable of development are too great.

Jovic with options in Germany? (@Plettigoal)

Luka Jovic’s move to Real Madrid did not go anywhere near the way he wanted to and now the striker is looking to return to Germany and maybe not just to Bayern Munich — like the rumor we previously saw:

Jovic’s contract — astoundingly — still runs through 2025 with Real Madrid.

Arsenal FC and Inter Milan have also been listed as non-Bundesliga potential destinations for the Serbia international.

Salah’s time at LFC ending? (Sport1)

Mo Salah’s negotiations with Liverpool are ongoing, but some are thinking that this could be the end of Egyptian’s tenure at the club:

Is Mo Salah’s time at Liverpool coming to an end? The Egyptian’s contract with the Reds expires in the summer of 2023 and there has not yet been an agreement on an extension.

Now Salah has opened up about his future in an interview with Four Four Two . “I don’t know, I have a year left on my contract,” said the 29-year-old when asked if he was confident of playing for Liverpool for a few more years.

“I think the fans know what I want, but the negotiations aren’t just about the money at all. I can’t say exactly how to proceed. I still have a year and the fans know what I want.”

Salah emphasized how much the club means to him, but so far he has not been able to bring himself to an early extension. Most recently, it was read on the island that Salah had turned down a weekly salary of £400,000 (EUR 474,000) and instead demanded £500,000 per week (EUR 593,000).

Ferdinand says Thiago wanted United move (Daily Mail)

Rio Ferdinand said that former Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara wanted to move to Manchester United before signing with Liverpool.

“Thiago has been the stand out midfielder for the last few weeks and months he’s been absolutely top,’ he told his VibeWithFive podcast. “You look at his stats? Thiago’s pass accuracy by the way in the last two games against Everton and Man Utd 98.4 percent against Everton and 95.6 percent against Everton. That is ridiculous. ‘I spoke to him at the time. He speaks perfect English, he was a great guy, wanted to come to United. But you look at him now and he couldn’t be happier.”

Dumfries sees value spike amid Bayern interest (Sempre Inter)

With Bayern Munich rumored to be interested Denzel Dumfries, the Inter Milan player’s value is reportedly going up on the market:

Denzel Dumfries Has Tripled In Value Since Joining Inter Amid Interest From Bayern Munich, Italian Media Report Denzel Dumfries Has Tripled In Value Since Joining Inter Amid Interest From Bayern Munich, Italian Media Report April 26, 2022 13:15Inter wingback Denzel Dumfries’s value has skyrocketed this season, with the 26-year-old emerging as a target for Bayern Munich.

This according to today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, who report that the Dutchman’s value has as much as tripled since his summer move to the Nerazzurri from PSV. Dumfries joined Inter last summer as the designated successor to Achraf Hakimi on the right, with the hope being that he could go some way to making up for the loss of the Moroccan’s formidable influence on the team.

The Dutchman has exceeded expectations, taking a couple months to settle in before nailing down a starting position and now performing at virtually the same levels as Hakimi had. Hakimi had been sold to Paris Saint-Germain for well over €60 million last summer, and given that Dumfries has replaced him with five goals and four assists so far this season, the Nerazzurri will not value him far off from that.

The Dutchman was signed for €12.5 million plus €2.5 million in add-ons, and it is hard to see him being worth any less than three times that amount now.

Torres talks loss to LFC (Liverpool Echo)

Villarreal defender Paul Torres is not ready to give up just because his side dropped a 2-0 decision to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal tie.

“Any error can penalize you. We knew where we were coming from. They were a bit better than us. We had planned for the eventuality that they went ahead, but we didn’t withstand as we had hoped,” Torres said. “The plan was similar to Munich. We had complete confidence, but we go leave with a two goal disadvantage, 90 very long minutes. One goal at home puts you back in it again. There’s plenty to go.

Ozark is back! (@Netflix)

If you are an Ozark fan like me, you should be excited for this: