Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s rationale for passing on Sasa Kalajdzic; Cristiano Ronaldo to AS Roma; Bayern eyeing FC Barcelona phenom; Lionel Messi fails on Sadio Mané recruitment for PSG; A Manchester United-Barca swap deal? and MORE!

Why Bayern is passing on Kalajdzic (Sport1)

By now, you have seen the stories stating that Bayern Munich is no longer in the market for VfB Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic.

When trying to sort out how things seemingly went from scorching hot to ice cold, it appears that it might be a simple response: After some analysis and research, Bayern Munich does not think that Kalajdzic would be able to fill Robert Lewandowski’s boots as the team’s center-forward:

For coach Julian Nagelsmann, the attacker would only have been considered as a backup if Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had said goodbye. However, he wants to stay, as his advisor Roger Wittmann recently confirmed again. In general, the club bosses are still looking for a nine with top qualities due to a possible Lewandowski departure.

Surrounding Kalajdzic with Bayern Munich’s plethora of attackers certainly would be interesting. With plenty of speed and creativity — but not a lot of height, Kalajdzic would offer up a different look for the Bavarians, but there are some things the club does not trust about the Austrian’s game.

Bayern closing in on Barca youth star? (Get Spanish Football News)

Is Bayern Munich getting closer on 16-year-old FC Barcelona phenom Adam Anzou:

Talented 16-year-old La Masia graduate Adam Aznou is set to leave Barcelona for a move to Germany, according to AS via Mundo Deportivo. Aznou, a rapid attack-minded left-back, is one of the jewels among La Masia’s ranks. The young full-back played for Barcelona’s Cadete A side in 2021/22, having made quite an impression. Many within the club view Aznou as a natural successor to Jordi Alba in the near future.

Barcelona’s future plans of integrating Aznou to their Juvenil B side have been put on hold, as the player’s family consider Barça’s financial offer insufficient. They’ve set their sights abroad, with offers from Germany being considered.

As per the latest report by Mundo Deportivo, Bayern Munich are the front-runners for Aznou, having overtaken other suitors, namely Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Benfica. In moving to Germany, Aznou would follow the footsteps of fellow La Masia graduate Iker Bravo, who joined Bayer Leverkusen last summer.

United spurns De Jong for Maguire swap? (Sport1)

This is a crazy one…FC Barcelona reportedly offered Manchester United a swap deal involving Frenkie de Jong and Harry Maguire:

Manchester United have apparently turned down a mega swap. According to the Sun , FC Barcelona wanted to sell Frenkie de Jong to the Red Devils in exchange for Harry Maguire. But Manchester’s new coach Erik ten Hag wants to continue working with the controversial central defender, who is little loved by the fans.

Instead, both clubs are now negotiating a fee for De Jong. The Dutchman is said to cost around 80 million euros. Around 64 million euros should flow immediately, the rest will follow through bonus payments.

Until recently, the two clubs were far from each other, but talks resumed over the weekend. Sportsmail reports that a breakthrough has been reached in the negotiations . Manchester are hopeful a decision will be reached quickly, with De Jong flying with the team to Thailand and Australia late next week , according to the Sun. According to Sport, the change should take place by June 30th.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 55 (Bavarian Football Works)

(With Chuck out of pocket for a few days, Samrin stepped in to host the Weekend Warm-up and did so with aplomb. Chuck is back next week for the Season 1 finale!)

Bayern Munich made a big move official this week with Sadio Mané joining from Liverpool. The Robert Lewandowski saga, though maybe on the backburner, is by no means over. Both players feature on today’s topics list:

• How Mané shows Bayern flexing their status as a destination club
• Why Lewandowski might be forced to stay after all
• Saša Kalajdžić rumors and how they relate to Lewandowski
• Do fans have short memories? Why Brazzo needs to keep the good times rolling
• How a Laimer signing could actually cause headaches for Julian Nagelsmann

Messi failed to lure Mané to PSG (The Mirror)

It appears that Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi was called into action to play the role of recruiter for Sadio Mané. Alas, Mané had already made his kind up to join Bayern Munich:

But the winger could have pushed for a move away from Anfield sooner and was urged to do so by Messi. The forward, who was in talks about extending his contract at Barcelona at the time, wanted to lead the line with Mane at the Camp Nou and made it known to the club who he thought the club should pursue in the transfer window.

Mane’s advisor Bacary Cisse has spoken about who his client has been approached by, revealing that PSG also held talks with the club ahead of the Bayern move, he told RMC Sport : “Yes, PSG did indeed ‘attack’ Sadio. Leonardo had several contacts with the German agent. They saw each other, they discussed the ins and outs of a possible transfer of Sadio at PSG, but it ended there. Everyone knows that Leonardo was on an ejection seat; we had to wait. Last year it could have also happened with FC Barcelona. It was Lionel Messi who imposed Sadio Mane in the deal when it was a question of him extending to Barca. He had given two names: Sadio Mane and an Argentinian central defender.”

Gomez totally gets why Lewy is upset (kicker via @TMuk_news)

Former Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez stated that he can understand why Robert Lewandowski was miffed that the club held talks with Erling Haaland:

Roma scoping Ronaldo? (Sport1)

Is AS Roma looking to bring Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo back to Italy? At least one report says Jose Mourinho would like to make that happen:

Is superstar Cristiano Ronaldo about to leave Manchester United after just one season? There should be several interested parties. One of them is called AS Roma , according to Fabio Petruzzi, who spoke to Italian radio station Retesport . With the Italians, Ronaldo would meet his ex-coach from Real time, José Mourinho.

Petruzzi himself played for the capital club for eleven years and is said to have learned that the club would like to convince the superstar of a transfer. While Ronaldo is apparently not up for sale at the Red Devils, the player wants to leave Manchester due to the Red Devils’ lack of activity in the transfer market, Portuguese Record reports .

The 37-year-old may be drawn back home. According to the Sun on Sunday , those responsible at ex-club Sporting Lisbon believe that Ronaldo is toying with a return. In addition, the Portuguese is associated with Chelsea and even Bayern Munich . However, SPORT1 knows that the Bayern bosses have rejected a Ronaldo change.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show Season 4, Episode 36 (Bavarian Football Works)

For the first time ever, BFW is doing a three-person show! Hasan Salihamidzic has been a perennial subject of controversy at Bayern Munich, and with his contract set to run out next season, we decided to do a deep dive on his record and what he has achieved in his tenure as sporting director. With the Sadio Mané saga fresh in everyone’s minds, it seemed like a good time to finally tackle this issue.

In this episode, INNN, Tom, and Schnitzel discuss:

• Our opening thoughts about Brazzo and how he has conducted his business at Bayern Munich.
• Does Brazzo deserve the flack he gets for failing to extend certain contracts?
• Talking about the communication issues at Bayern, especially the Robert Lewandowski saga.
• The Niklas Sule incident — what happened there? Going through everything from top to bottom.
• Criticism of Herbert Hainer and Oliver Kahn. How much of their failings are being blamed on Brazzo?
• INNN tries to come up with some redeeming points for Brazzo. Maybe he learned his lessons this season?
• What happened between Hansi Flick and Brazzo?
• Final question: Has Brazzo earned his contract extension yet? What more should he do? (Arguments ensue ...)