Daily Schmankerl: Can Bayern Munich afford FC Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong?; Timo Werner more comfortable with Germany than Chelsea; Juventus scoping Filip Kostic; Renato Sanches to AC Milan?; Chelsea getting serious about Ousmane Dembele; & MORE!

De Jong likely too expensive for Bayern (Barca Universal)

Reports out of Spain indicate that Bayern Munich’s interest in FC Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong is legitimate, but the Catalans might be asking for too much money for the midfielder. Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City are also reportedly interested in De Jong as well:

Considering the club’s current financial situation, Barcelona are open to offers for the Netherlands international. Manchester United have been linked heavily with a move for de Jong, with Mundo Deportivo claiming that the Red Devils are pushing hard to sign him.

Talks between the two clubs are ongoing and the Premier League giants are confident of getting their man, who has emerged as a priority target following the appointment of Erik ten Hag as their new manager. However, de Jong is not sold on a move to Manchester United as they will not be participating in the UEFA Champions League for the upcoming campaign.

Amidst the links with the Red Devils, more clubs are keeping a close watch on the situation. Indeed, as per the report, Paris Saint-Germain are interested in de Jong and monitoring the midfielder’s current situation at the club. At the same time, Bayern Munich are another club are looking at the Netherlands international, while they are also keeping a close eye on the contract situation of another Barcelona midfielder in Gavi.

Manchester City, too, are interested in Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong, and with Barcelona eyeing Bernardo Silva as a potential replacement for the Dutchman, there is a possibility of the two clubs entering a swap arrangement. Barcelona are hoping to recoup most of the €86 million that they paid Ajax to sign him back in 2019, but Manchester United are confident of striking a deal for €60 million.

We had already seen linked between Bayern Munich and De Jong and the Bavarians are rumored to be one of the few clubs — allegedly — on the list of club that De Jong would actually accept a move to.

However, it just seems like Barca wants too much in return for De Jong, who might not even start in Bavaria.

The man truly does it all (@WhoScored)

Robert Lewandowski can score just about any way possible:

That...is going to be tough to replace.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 52

Typically when you hit up the Weekend Warm-up Podcast, you will hear some analysis and positivity — but we threw that out the window this week.

It is not time to panic yet, but it is time to wonder if anyone knows what the hell is going on at Bayern Munich these days.

After a crazy week of news, this is what we have on tap:

• A look at Robert Lewandowski’s verbal cutting of ties to Bayern Munich.
• Examining the potential move for Sadio Mane.
• How Serge Gnabry’s rejection of a €19 million offer shows there is something bad brewing at Bayern Munich.
• Why Julian Nagelsmann’s job is going to be a lot harder in year two.
• A look at the lack of direction and reactionary action from the Bayern Munich front office.

Juve making strides on Kostic? (Sport1)

Juventus could be the frontrunner for Eintracht Frankfurt star Filip Kostic:

Juventus have reportedly made a breakthrough in courting Filip Kostic. As the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports, the winger from Eintracht Frankfurt has agreed on a change with the old lady.

Juve would only have to agree on a transfer with the Europa League winner from the Bundesliga. The transfer fee is the sticking point. SPORT1 knows that the SBU demands a transfer fee of at least 20 million euros.

The Hessians still have no official request, let alone an offer. As a result, a contract extension for the Serb at Eintracht is still possible. Kostic had recently let it sound that he could well imagine staying. “I feel very comfortable in Frankfurt. We celebrated a great success together,” said the 29-year-old at a press conference of the Serbian national team. However, the transfer fee is likely to be too high for Munich.

Can’t really argue with this (@FrankKhalidUK)

It seems like Chelsea FC’s Timo Werner is starting to position himself for a move away from the club:

Bavarian Podcast Works Season 4, Episode 34 (Bavarian Football Works)

Welcome back! It’s been a week since our last podcast and a huge chunk of the Bayern Munich squad is back in the spotlight with Germany finally back in action for the UEFA Nations League. Given that the World Cup is only months away at this point, these games versus Italy, England, and Hungary are invaluable for Hansi Flick to assess the state of his squad and their reaction to his tactics. The first test vs the Azzurri ended in a draw, and there’s already plenty of talking points from that one.

In this episode, INNN and Samrin discuss:

• Our first impressions from Germany’s performance against Italy.
• The huge problem Hansi Flick has with Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane.
• Why Kai Havertz and Thomas Muller should be starting regularly together for the national team.
• Did Jonas Hofmann secure his spot in the XI for Germany?
• Why does Hansi Flick keep playing Thilo Kehrer?
• Who we want to see in the starting lineup versus England in midweek.
• How Bayern’s problems under Nagelsmann might soon become Germany’s problems as well.
• Moving onto the Gnabry situation — what exactly is going on here?
• Why was Gnabry offered 19m euros a year? And why did he reject it?
• Potential reasons Gnabry might have for leaving Bayern Munich, and why they don’t make any kind of sense.
• How Bayern needs to deal with this entire mess.

Sanches to Milan looking close to done (Sport1)

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Renato Sanches appears to be on his way to AC Milan:

Renato Sanches’ involvement with OSC Lille will apparently come to an end shortly. Gazzetta dello Sport reports that the 24-year-old is about to sign with AC Milan .

According to the report, Sanches can expect a handsome salary of four million euros plus bonus payments in Italy. Lille are demanding a transfer fee of 15 million euros for the Portuguese, who has one year left on his contract in northern France. The reigning Serie A champion wants to pay three million euros less.

Milan need to improve in central midfield as Franck Kessie will leave the club after five years.

Dembele to Chelsea? (Sport1)

Is Chelsea going to land Ousmane Dembele? Inquiring minds want to know:

For which club is Ousmane Dembele going to score goals next season? The future of the winger is still open. His contract with FC Barcelona expires at the end of June. According to a report in the Spanish newspaper Sport , a club has now said goodbye to the French poker player. Because the new sports director Luis Campos sees other priorities in the squad, Paris Saint-Germain apparently wants to forgo further efforts in the tug of war for the 25-year-old.

Predecessor Leonardo, on the other hand, wanted to do everything possible to guide Dembele to the French capital. According to Sport, it is now decided between Barca and Chelsea. Accordingly, both the Catalans and the Blues have made an offer, although the Englishman’s is said to be significantly better.

According to SPORT1 information, FC Bayern has also dealt with Dembele. The dribbling artist’s salary, which is said to be between 20 and 24 million euros, should have deterred the record champions.

This is the best (@Viralmemeguy)

Damn, this is so good — and has been me soooooooo many times. What a genius idea: