Daily Schmankerl: Manchester United expected to challenge Bayern Munich on Sasa Kalajdzic; Chelsea getting serious on Robert Lewandowski bid; Real Madrid, Bayern eyeing Everton star?; Eden Hazard staying with Real?; Leo Messi to Inter Miami?; and MORE!

United also interested in Kalajdzic (Football 365)

Manchester United could be a major challenger to Bayern Munich for VfB Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic:

According to reports, Man Utd and Bayern Munich are among the clubs interested in VfB Stuttgart forward Sasa Kalajdzic ahead of this summer.

The 24-year-old has been with Stuttgart since 2019. He has been impacted by injuries over the past couple of years but he ended up scoring 16 league goals in the Bundesliga last season.

Kalajdzic missed the first few months of the 2021/22 campaign as a result of a shoulder injury. He has ended this term with six goals and two assists from his 15 league outings.

The player’s contract expires in 2023 so he is likely to leave Stuttgart this summer. Sky Deutschland (via Sport Witness) are reporting that he is ‘available for €20m’.

Kalajdzic is an interesting figure for Bayern Munich fans. Tall and talented, Kalajdzic is a true target man — something that both sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic and manager Julian Nagelsmann want.

How serious Manchester United really is about the Austrian remains to be seen.

Chelsea getting more serious about Lewy bid? (Four Four Two)

Chelsea FC might be starting to think it has a chance to pry Robert Lewandowski out of the clutches of his expected destination, FC Barcelona:

Chelsea are interested in signing Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, say reports, but they remain outsiders in the race for the Barcelona target as things stand. The Blues are unable to buy or sell players until Roman Abramovich has sold the club, but that hasn’t stopped them from considering their options for the summer transfer market.

Romelu Lukaku has struggled for form since completing a £97.5 million return to Stamford Bridge from Inter Milan last summer, and the London club are now considering another move for a big-name striker.

Bayern are resistant to the idea of a sale, despite the risk of then losing Lewandowski for nothing in a year’s time, and Barcelona’s financial problems mean they are unlikely to be able to afford a fee the German champions would regard as suitable.

Any problems between the two clubs could open the door for Chelsea, who are keeping close tabs on developments. Thomas Tuchel is a huge fan of the striker, and it’s easy to see why – his record is phenomenal.

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?

Hazard to stay at Madrid per Ancelotti (Sport1)

After another tumultuous season in Spain, it seems Belgian star Eden Hazard is going to stick around for another year under Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid:

Does he go or does he stay? The Eden Hazard cause at Real Madrid has been up and down for months. The 31-year-old hardly plays at all anymore and is always plagued by injuries and bruises. He is currently out with a fissure in his fibula. While it looked more like a farewell recently, Real coach Carlo Ancelotti has now spoken a word of power - and was a little surprised by the clarity.

“Eden Hazard will play for Real Madrid next season,” the 62-year-old is quoted as saying by Spanish journalist Sergio Quirante, among others. The Belgian’s plan is very clear, he wants to show his qualities in the following season, Ancelotti continued. ”He’s staying - and with a lot of motivation, because the last few years haven’t gone well for him.”

Hazard still has a contract with the royals until 2024. In 2019 he came from Chelsea for 115 million euros.

Timber to United getting hotter (Four Four Two)

Despite Bayern Munich’s alleged interest in Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, it appears the youngster could be headed to Manchester United:

Manchester United have opened talks with Ajax for defender Jurrien Timber, say reports, with the youngster set to follow Erik ten Hag from Amsterdam to Old Trafford.

Ten Hag will succeed Ralf Rangnick as United boss at the end of the season, but he’s already busy building his squad for next season. According to Sky Sport Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Timber is at the forefront of the new manager’s transfer plans.

Messi to Inter...Miami? (@FOS)

Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi could be plotting his next move, which might include a stint as player-owner in MLS with Inter Miami:

Here is another report stating the same thing. It appears this could really happen:

Laporta talks Dembele move (Barca Universal)

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta says that he would like to keep Ousmane Dembele, but knows it might be tough.

“I think he wants to stay but there are other very tempting offers that are better than ours. We have already presented an offer to Ousmane, we expect the answer at the beginning of the week.”

Bayern Munich, of course, is rumored to be in talks with Dembele.

Bayern has competition for Richarlison (The Hard Tackle)

If Bayern Munich is, indeed, pursuing Everton striker Richarlison, Real Madrid and Manchester United could be among the clubs also eyeing the Brazilian:

Bayern Munich have made contact with Richarlison’s agent, joining Manchester United and Real Madrid in the race to sign the Everton forward.

A recent report from Goal Brazil has offered an update on the future of Richarlison. The Everton forward is determined to leave Goodison Park at the end of the season and has already been courted by a host of top clubs across Europe. Real Madrid and Manchester United are among the clubs interested, with Bayern Munich joining the race.

It appears the uncertainty surrounding the future of star striker Robert Lewandowski has made Bayern quite proactive in the market. The Bundesliga giants are desperate to secure the services of a top-quality striker who can soften the blow, should their Polish hitman depart at the end of the season.

Forest keeper had some help in stopping PKs (@isaacjennings80)

Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Brice Samba had some notes heading into penalty kicks during his squad’s aggregate win over Sheffield United. Forest is headed to the Championship promotion finale against Huddersfield Town:

Samba stopped three attempts during the shootout.