Daily Schmankerl: Details on Bayern Munich’s offer to Juventus for Matthijs de Ligt emerge and the Dutchman wants Bavaria; Konrad Laimer getting impatient?; Bayern looking for a left-back?; Arsenal still scoping Serge Gnabry; and MORE!

Bayern’s first offer to Juve did not get accepted...yet (@cfbayern)

Update: July 11th, 3:35PM EST — De Ligt appears to have made his decision

Per Fabrizio Romano, Bayern Munich and Juventus will be chatting again soon. It does appear that Matthijs de Ligt is all-in on the Bavarians:

Update: July 11th, 3:00PM EST — Bayern’s first offer is incentive laden

According to Sport Bild’s Christian Falk, Bayern Munich’s initial proposal to Juventus for Matthijs de Ligt was worth €60 million, plus bonuses:

Update: July 11th, 1:50PM EST — Today’s talks were…inconclusive

According to multiple reports, there was an (expected) gap between what Juventus wants for Matthijs de Ligt and what Bayern Munich has initially offered the Italian club. For what it is worth, Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić is optimistic:

Now the Bayern contingent is back home:

Update: July 11th, 11:20AM EST — They’re in!

According to Sky journalist Marco Bovicelli, the meeting is currently taking place between executives from Bayern Munich and Juventus, along with the agent for Matthijs de Ligt:

#DeLigt meeting in progress between @FCBayern, @juventusfc, and the player’s agent Rafaela Pimenta #skysport

Update: July 11th, 9:15AM EST — Brazzo has landed

Bayern Munich’s entourage has landed in Italy and will head to Juventus for talks on Matthijs de Ligt:

Part of me is wondering if this is going to break out like Ford vs. Ferrari where Enzo Ferrari took pictures of his meeting with Ford to force Fiat to purchase a piece of Ferrari. Of course that was probably more than a little dramatized, but imagine some Italian gopher from Juventus hustling to get this footage to Chelsea FC in an attempt to get them to up their bid for Matthijs de Ligt...

Update: July 11th, 7:20AM EST — It’s happening

According to Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk, Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić is on his way to Italy for a meeting with Juventus executives. Can a deal get done soon...or will this drag on? With this tweet, Falk confirmed the initial reports about a Monday meeting:

Initial report:

Bayern Munich representatives are set to meet with Juventus and the agent for Matthijs de Ligt on Monday (Get Italian Football News):

Bayern Munich are currently pushing for Matthijs de Ligt, who also prefers joining the German club this summer. Chelsea remain another interested party in the race. According to a report from Nicola Balice (via Calciomercato), Bayern Munich, Juventus, and Matthijs de Ligt’s representative, Rafaela Pimenta, will meet on Monday and hold talks to reach a potential transfer for the Dutchman.

As per the story, Bayern want to complete the deal with the lowest offer possible and have subsequently decided to submit a bid of around €75 million plus bonuses. Juventus are asking for €90-€100 million upfront plus additional bonuses. De Ligt’s current contract at Juventus holds a release clause of around €120 million. As a result, Juventus are willing to amass as much fund as they could from a potential departure.

On the other hand, Chelsea are closely monitoring the situation at the moment. The report understands that they will make an entry only if Bayern and Juventus fail to reach an agreement over a summer move for the former Ajax captain. The 22-year-old centre-back has already given his consent to a move to Germany. However, he will not take any hasty step to force a move away from Turin. De Ligt is expected to complete his medical at J Medical ahead of a reported pre-season with the Italian club.

Sport Bild’s Christian Falk confirmed the report as well:

Truthfully, I hope the Bayern Munich contingent travelling to Italy consists of Brazzo, Marco Neppe, Uli Hoeneß, and Julian Nagelsmann — and I hope they create “The Hangover.”

Who would be who in that cast???

Brazzo = Phil (Bradley Cooper)

Hoeneß = Alan (Zach Galifianakis)

Nagelsmann = Stu (Ed Helms)

Neppe = Doug (Justin Bartha)

It would be worth it, just for this scene:

Bayern exploring options for left-back (Sport1)

With the sale of Omar Richards to Nottingham Forest going official on Sunday, Bayern Munich might be looking for a new left-back on the market:

Coach Julian Nagelsmann would like to have another left-back as an alternative to regular player Alphonso Davies. The Bayern managers are therefore carefully exploring the market. Should there be no new signing for the left-back, Lucas Hernández would be the first alternative to Davies in this position.

We have seen Bayern Munich linked to VfB Stuttgart star Borna Sosa multiple times, but he would be an expensive option to compete with Alphonso Davies. Sosa, who Julian Nagelsmann is a fan of, would probably only be a possibility if Davies inform the club that he will be leaving in the near future.

Otherwise, it seems we can expect a lower-priced or free transfer.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast — Season 2, Episode 1 (Bavarian Football Works)

What seemed like a crazy notion last weekend, looks like it could be very close to happening — Bayern Munich and Juventus center-back Matthijs de Ligt could finally be getting together.

What does this mean for the club? Where does he fit? Who will be affected if De Ligt walks through the gates on Säbener Straße? We’ll talk through all of that and MORE! Here is what we have on tap:

• A quick aside about the award nomination for BFW’s podcast network.
• A deep dive into the possible move for De Ligt.
• Why waiting for Konrad Laimer might not be a bad thing, but would limit Julian Nagelsmann’s ability to tinker.
• What will Bayern Munich do with some of its prized youngsters this season?
• What if Robert Lewandowski stays with the club for this season?

Help support BFW’s quest to be the best, by checking out this link and giving us a vote (or INNN will hunt you down): World Soccer Talk Awards — Best Club Podcast

Gunners eyeing Gnabry from afar, but move not likely (Give Me Sport)

Arsenal has unofficially bowed out of making a strong pursuit of Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry, but it does not mean the Gunners do not want the German — it just could take a lot of different scenarios to happen. Either way, Arsenal is at least still keeping tabs on Gnabry per one report:

Arsenal have Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry on their radar, although they’re unlikely to sign him this summer, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke. The £58.5m-rated star has been linked with a return to the Emirates Stadium with just 12 months remaining on his contract at the Allianz Arena.

According to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs, Arsenal are monitoring Gnabry’s situation having missed out on signing Raphinha, who looks set to join either Chelsea or Barcelona.

BVB not getting rid of Reyna (@FabrizioRomano)

There were rumors floating around that Borussia Dortmund might be considering loaning away or even selling off USMNT star Gio Reyna. Per Fabrizio Romano, however, that will not be happening:

ICYMI: Vote for Bavarian Podcast Works! (Bavarian Football Works)

It’s our pleasure to announce that Bavarian Podcast Works has been nominated for the “Best Club Podcast” by World Soccer Talk.

That’s right your (hopefully) favorite Bayern Munich podcast network is up for an award. While we are humbled and honored that we have not chased everyone away, we could use your help in securing the trophy. That’s right...you can vote! Help support BFW’s quest to be the best, by checking out this link and giving us a vote (or INNN will hunt you down): World Soccer Talk Awards — Best Club Podcast

Bear in mind, we didn’t nominate ourselves or anything like that for this award...somebody likes us!

We’ve put a lot of hard work into helping the podcast network grow and evolve over the years. We’d love to bring home the gold here and frankly we have not been this fired up over a competition since the Bunducksliga was at its peak. Voting closes at midnight EST on July 31, 2022. (Direct link: https://worldsoccertalk.com/best-club-podcast-2022-world-soccer-talk-awards)

Haaland given #9 at City (@ErlingHaaland)

Erling Haaland will wear the #9 jersey at Manchester City:

According to Sky, Haaland is in a “pressure free” environment:

New Manchester City striker Erling Haaland insists he does not feel any pressure joining the Premier League champions. The Norway international, one of the hottest young prospects in Europe, left Borussia Dortmund for City - the club his father Alf Inge previously played for - in a deal worth £51 million.

But despite the expectation the forward, who turns 22 next week, intends to enjoy himself. Asked how he would approach the challenge he said: “Like I have been doing my whole career, try to enjoy every single minute, every moment, try not to think too much. “Overthinking is not a good thing for every human being. I just try to relax when I can and work hard.”

Laimer getting impatient? (kicker via @iMiaSanMia)

Konrad Laimer wants to get his future settled, but Bayern Munich seems to be tied up with Matthijs de Ligt at the moment:

I like Laimer and I understand why Julian Nagelsmann would want him. Still, I question if it would be a wise move for the player to make the jump to Bavaria — unless he knows the team will play a 4-3-3.