Daily Schmankerl: Thomas Tuchel wants Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski at Chelsea; Romelu Lukaku heading back to Inter Milan?; How FC Barcelona missed on Darwin Nunez; Ousmane Dembele eyeing Barca exit; and MORE!

Tuchel pushing Chelsea for Lewy move? (ESPN)

Chelsea FC boss Thomas Tuchel wants Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski at his club. With Romelu Lukaku eyeing a move back to Inter Milan, Chelsea could ramp up its pursuit of the Poland international:

Chelsea are seeking a striker of their own to reshape their attack. Chelsea held an interest in Erling Haaland but were unable to compete with Manchester City due to sanctions blocking transfers imposed by the U.K. government arising from former owner Roman Abramovich’s alleged ties with Russia president Vladimir Putin.

Tuchel has long been an admirer of Lewandowski, who has confirmed his intention to leave Bayern Munich, and believes he would thrive in the Premier League despite turning 34 in August. The Poland international has been heavily linked with a €40m move to Barcelona with reports in Spain this week suggesting he has verbally agreed a deal, but a lack of funds is holding things up.

Several rivals are looking to pounce on any uncertainty with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United among the clubs linked with Lewandowski. Sources told ESPN that Tuchel has encouraged Chelsea to enter the running if there is any chance a deal can be done.

Lukaku to Inter looking more likely (@FabrizioRomano)

Echoing the story above, Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku might just get what he wants with Inter Milan:

ESPN added more context to what is going on between Lukaku and Inter Milan:

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel would like to replace Romelu Lukaku with Robert Lewandowski, but there are significant obstacles to completing both deals, sources told ESPN. Lukaku is keen on rejoining Inter Milan and endured a disappointing first season back at Stamford Bridge — with eight goals in 26 Premier League games — after leaving the Serie A club for €115 million last summer.

Sources told ESPN that talks took place between Lukaku and the club in recent days, during which Chelsea signalled their willingness to allow the Belgian striker to leave the club. However, the Blues want to recoup the vast majority of the club-record fee they paid just a year earlier, while Inter are short on cash and would prefer a loan deal.

Chelsea had originally been asking for around €20m-€25m to loan Lukaku for just one season in an effort to offset any depreciation in his transfer value given he turns 30 next year. However, they are now willing to accept a significantly lower fee and talks are continuing — it is as yet undecided whether any agreement will include an option or obligation to make the move permanent, or how his £300,000-a-week wages will be paid.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 54 (Bavarian Football Works)

There is a lot of moving and shaking these days Bayern Munich and we’re covering it all here at BFW. This week, though, some of the biggest pieces of news were not necessarily always revolving around transfers. Take a look at the big topics we have on tap for this episode:

• A deep dive into the relationship between Joshua Kimmich and Julian Nagelsmann.
• A look at Leroy Sane’s extended slump and why 2022/23 might not be so kind to the sometimes dazzling attacker.
• The latest transfer reports on Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, and Serge Gnabry.
• Ryan Gravenberch’s arrival at Bayern Munich.
• Some sad news on some of our favorite prospects.

Witsel to Marseille? (Sport1)

Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel could be headed to Olympique Marseille:

Will Axel Witsel move to Marseille? As L’Équipe can be seen, Olympique Marseille has a strong interest in the ex-BVB star. Accordingly, the French top club is looking for an immediate reinforcement for the coming season, in which OM starts in the Champions League.

The defensive midfield clearer would bring the experience of 65 appearances in the premier class to the port city on the Côte d’Azur. Talks with the 33-year-old are said to have started weeks ago. “I still want to play at the top level for three more years,” Witsel said recently about his sporting future with the national team.

Meanwhile, not only Marseille are interested in the Belgian international, but also Germany, Turkey, Spain and the USA. According to L’Équipe, Atlético Madrid are Marseille’s main rival in courting the Belgian. Witsel is leaving BVB after four years and 145 games. When choosing a club, he is pursuing two goals in particular: “I’m thinking about the upcoming World Cup and then the EM 2024.”

Spurs, United tussling on Eriksen? (Sport1)

Tottenham Hotspur and and Manchester United are reportedly going to spar over Christian Eriksen:

According to The Athletic, the club are very interested in the Dane and have already made him a contract offer. In addition, according to the report, Tottenham Hotspur should also consider a return campaign. “I have various offers and would like to play in the Champions League again,” said the attacking midfielder recently.

After suffering cardiac arrest at Euro 2021 , the 30-year-old has had an impressive rise. Eriksen was no longer allowed to play at Inter Milan due to his implanted pacemaker and so he went to FC Brentford in the Premier League in January. However, after one goal and four assists in 11 games, the Denmark international has not renewed his contract with the club and is looking for a new challenge.

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Germany 5-2 Italy (Bavarian Football Works)

For anyone fretting Germany’s recent performances, former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick had quite a way to make people feel a little bit more assured.

Germany smacked Italy 5-2 in a match that really was not even that close.

Die Mannschaft was dominant from the outset and never let up. Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at how the scoring went down.
• What looked different in this match for Germany as compared to some previous games.
• The offensive explosion fueled by Timo Werner, Thomas Müller, and others.
• A good showing from the squad’s outside backs.
• Why Leroy Sane needs to catch a break of some sort to get back in gear.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @jeffersonfenner, @TheBarrelBlog, @tommyadams71, @bfwinnn, and more.

Barca missed on Nunez (ESPN)

As it turns out, FC Barcelona could have acquired newly-minted Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez back in 2020:

Liverpool’s new €100m signing Darwin Nunez almost joined Barcelona for as little as €8m two years ago, but the LaLiga side dropped out of the bidding when Benfica got involved, sources told ESPN.

Barca’s former sporting director Ramon Planes, who was integral in the signings of Pedri and Ronald Araujo, lined up a deal with Almeria in the summer of 2020 to sign Nunez and leave him on loan at the Spanish second division side for a season.

Coach Ronald Koeman had also given the green light to the transfer as Barca sought a long-term Luis Suarez replacement, but Benfica emerged with an offer worth €24m and the Catalans withdrew their interest.

Uruguay striker Suarez had himself advised Barca to push through a deal for his compatriot. “I told them: ‘Take care of Darwin. Watch him, he’s very good,” he revealed previously. “They told me he was at Almeria and still very young, but instead of paying €100m [now], at the time it would have been €20m and, for example, he could have been the replacement for [me].”

Nunez, of course, was linked to Bayern Munich at one point, but Liverpool got its man.

Dembele leans toward Barca exit (Sport1)

It looks like Ousmane Dembele is leaning toward leaving FC Barcelona. Chelsea FC is reportedly interested in bringing in the Frenchman:

Ousmane Dembélé will probably leave FC Barcelona in the summer. Spanish radio station Cadena Ser report that the Frenchman has made his decision and rejected the Catalans’ latest contract offer. The sports newspaper AS also writes that Barca have offered a one-year contract and there should be no further offer.

According to the Spanish media, Chelsea FC is particularly interested. There, Dembélé would meet Thomas Tuchel again, with whom he had already worked at BVB in the 2016/2017 season.

After moving from the Bundesliga side to Barca for €140m in the summer of 2017, the 25-year-old never really got going. It wasn’t until Xavi took over as coach last winter that Dembélé also shone, making 13 assists in just 21 league games.

Dembélé should definitely leave the club in winter because he did not want to extend his contract. But then the dribbling artist became a regular player. Now he’s going on a free transfer.