Daily Schmankerl: Manchester United wants Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski; FC Barcelona’s Xavi not worried about age of transfers; Lewy on PSG list of top four Kylian Mbappe replacements; Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante to United?; and MORE!

United wants Lewandowski, too (Football Transfer Tavern)

Manchester United will join FC Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea FC, and Paris Saint-Germain on the list of teams that want Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski:

Manchester United are interested in signing Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, according to a report from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.

As per Mundo Deportivo, United, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are all keen on signing the 129-cap superstar. It’s claimed that the Red Devils have ‘positioned themselves internally’ to sign Lewandowski in the summer should a preferred move to Camp Nou fail to materialise due to the finances involved.

Xavi says age isn’t relevant on transfers (Sport1)

Xavi won’t let age get in the way of acquiring a player that he wants for FC Barcelona:

What happens to Robert Lewandowski? According to SPORT1 information, the Polish striker from FC Bayern Munich does not want to extend his contract, which expires in 2023, and is toying with a move to FC Barcelona.

According to SPORT1 information, there is already a verbal agreement between the Catalans and Lewandowski advisor Pini Zahavi, and there is a three-year contract in the room. However, would it even make sense for Barca to offer such a long contract to a 33-year-old. When asked about Lewandowski, coach Xavi responded with clear words: “Age is not important.” He drew a comparison to a current player in his team. “I signed Dani Alves and it went well.” He added: “These days players take good care of themselves. They have nutritionists, they work hard and they take care of themselves. Look at Modric or Ibrahimovic or Alves himself. You can work at a very high level.”

Xavi stressed that “when signing players, it is important for us that they have quality and can perform for us. Age is not a priority for us, but performance on the field is.”

Asked to what extent signing a centre-forward is a priority, the Barca boss explained: “I made it clear what I want for next season in order to maximize performance and then we will see what is feasible or not. Not all goals have been achieved and we need to improve the team and squad.

PSG’s four options to replace Mbappe (Sport Bild)

Paris Saint-Germain reportedly has four main options to replace Kylian Mbappe, should the pacey forward leave France:

• Darwin Nunez, Benfica
• Mo Salah, Liverpool
• Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich
• Arnaut Danjuma, Villarreal

As far as a like for like replacement goes, there really is not one, but Salah and Danjuma fit the profile best.

Bavarian Podcast Works Season 4, Episode 32 (Bavarian Football Works)

Well, the bombshell dropped. Since our last podcast, Robert Lewandowski has officially confirmed that he wants to leave Bayern Munich this summer. This is obviously the biggest news of the week, but since we already covered the topic of potential replacements in previous podcasts, we here at BPW decided to take a different track.

In addition, please welcome our new podcaster — Teddy Son! He was gracious enough to hop in when another scheduling issue threatened to delay this episode further.

In this episode, INNN and Teddy discuss:

• Does the Bayern Munich board deserve blame for this Lewandowski mess?
• How the board has conducted self-sabotage in major contract negotiations since 2019.
• How the board forgot the human aspect of negotiations.
• Defending Hasan Salihamidzic and (some of) his work for the club.
• The strange vibes of Herbert Hainer and Oliver Kahn — too corporate for Bayern Munich?
• Why Lewandowski’s ugly contract saga leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
• Discussing alternatives: Does Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic make sense as a Lewy successor?
• Should Bayern Munich sell Lewandowski now, or keep him and lose him for free next summer?

Ten Hag wants Kante at United (90min.com)

New Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants Chelsea FC star N’Golo Kante to be the keystone to his new squad:

Erik ten Hag wants Manchester United to sign Chelsea star N’Golo Kante, and the Red Devils believe he is an attainable target.

Paul Pogba’s representatives will meet with Juventus on Monday in the hopes of thrashing out a deal that would see the Frenchman return to the club. Pogba already has an offer to rejoin the Bianconeri but at this rate would have to take a substantial pay cut.

Manchester United could end their interest in Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, with the Dutchman ready to forfeit around £6m in unpaid wages to join Manchester City instead.

Sterling leaving City? (90min.com)

Raheem Sterling could be bolting Manchester City. FC Barcelona, Arsenal FC, and Tottenham Hotspur are all reportedly interested in the 27-year-old:

Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling expects to join one of Europe’s best clubs should he decide to leave the Etihad. The 27-year-old is under contract until 2023 and has been linked with Barcelona, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 49 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich will close out its season against Wolfsburg this weekend, but we had plenty — and I mean plenty — to talk about and discuss this week.

Here is what we have on tap for this week’s episode:

• A look at why the latest news about Robert Lewandowski wanting to leave Bayern Munich is devastating and is made even worse by the fact that the Bavarians also missed on Erling Haaland. The Norwegian seems set for a move to Manchester City.
• We also tackle the alleged discontent growing between the Bayern Munich coaching staff and front office. Can the two sides get aligned? Moreover, why weren’t the philosophical differences hammered out during the hiring process to see if everything was a fit?
• Why Marcel Sabitzer probably should look to leave Bayern Munich even if he wants to stay.
• A look at the latest on those rumors surrounding Konrad Laimer and Frenkie de Jong.

Aubameyang to LFC? (HITC)

Liverpool reportedly has its eye on Robert Lewandowski, but could also be scoping out FC Barcelona’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who would seemingly be available should the Poland international move to Barca:

Liverpool signing Robert Lewandowski seems quite unlikely at this stage – but a one-time Arsenal hitman could be a viable alternative. Lewandowski revealed on Saturday that he will more than likely be leaving Bayern Munich this summer and although Liverpool have been linked, Fabrizio Romano claims that the 33-year-old hitman wants to join Barcelona.

That opens up a problem for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined the Camp Nou side after his Arsenal contract was terminated by Mikel Arteta back in January. And if Lewandowski is off the table, should Jurgen Klopp make a move for Aubameyang this summer?

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Wolfsburg 2-2 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich, in keeping with the theme of the season, took a 0-2 lead and then succumbed to a 2-2 draw against VfL Wolfsburg.

In this podcast, we look at:

• Bayern’s revamped lineup including Josip Stanisic
• Some sneaky criticism of Julian Nagelsmann
• Mullendowski’s possibly last combo goal
• The game being a microcosm of Bayern’s season
• A look back at the game that might have virtually ended Bayern’s season
• Thoughts about future transfers including possibly Sasa Kaladjzic
• Thoughts on Stuttgart’s survival
• Why Bayern should care about Stuttgart’s survival
• Thoughts on where Alphonso Davies should play
• Leroy Sané — What the heck was that miss?
• A reminder about why winning the Bundesliga is difficult

Tuchel acknowledges Christensen is leaving (@FabrizioRomano)

After months of speculation, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel revealed defender Andreas Christensen is leaving the club. As Fabrizio Romano reported, FC Barcelona is the Dane’s next destination: