Daily Schmankerl: FC Barcelona making its next move for Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski?; PSG failed on Sadio Mané and Paul Pogba; Arsenal, Juventus scoping Serge Gnabry?; and MORE!

Barca to offer €50M fixed to Bayern for Lewy (Barca Universal)

FC Barcelona will reportedly submit another bid for Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski. This time, Barca will allegedly pitch a fixed fee of €50 million. That figure could still fall we short of the €70 million-€75 million that the Bavarians are supposed to want to the Poland international:

Barcelona’s attempts to sign Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich this summer are yet to bear fruit. The German champions have knocked back three separate offers from the Blaugrana for their ace goal scorer, with the latest bid being in the region of €40 million, plus €10 million in add-ons, taking the total value of the deal to €50 million.

However, Bayern Munich continue to be steadfast in their stance of the player being not for sale. But recent reports indicate that the Bavarian giants have started informal talks with Barça after having avoided negotiations until this point.

And Gerard Romero is now claiming that Barcelona are prepared to raise their bid for the 33-year-old Poland captain and table an offer that would be worth €50 million fixed, in the hope that it will convince Die Roten to do business. Romero adds that Lewandowski has been identified as the absolute priority by manager Xavi Hernandez for the summer transfer window, which is why the Catalans are now ready to table another improved offer despite having faced rejections thrice already.

PSG failed in Mané, Pogba pursuits (The Mirror)

It appears that Paris Saint-Germain was in the running for both Sadio Mané and Paul Pogba, but could not figure out a way to convince either layer to make the leap to France:

And a report from Le Parisien via GFFN has hinted that Leonardo was intending on carrying out another summer of high-profile arrivals. They suggest that PSG, had they not made the change at sporting director, would have been in the market for ex-Liverpool forward Sadio Mané.

The Senegalese forward has now completed a move to Bayern Munich, but would have been a target for the French champions. Along with Mané, it is claimed that Paul Pogba would have been on the radar.

Juve, Gunners eyeing Gnabry? (Calciomercato via Juve FC)

Is Juventus a dark horse candidate to acquire Bayern Munich star Serge Gnabry? It looks like the Italian giant is preparing to make a play for the Germany international if recent reports are to be believed:

Juventus has been in the market for a new attacker and one name on their wishlist is Serge Gnabry. The German has been one of the finest attackers in the world as he plays for Bayern Munich. He has won all the club trophies he can grab with the Bavarians and his current deal expires in 2023.

They have been keen to get him on an extended contract and have made offers to him, but the former Arsenal man hasn’t given them a positive response. Their latest offer is still on the table, but he is on holiday and will only respond to it when he returns.

Calciomercato says his reluctance to agree to a new deal with them has given Juve hopes he could change clubs. The Bianconeri are now looking to make him one of Max Allegri’s men. The report says they are patiently waiting in the wings to pounce and sign him if it becomes clear that he will not remain at Bayern.

To add fuel to the Juventus fire, Gnabry posted an Instagram photo of him wearing a Juve hat per Sport Bild. The post was on his “story”, so it is now gone (but is anything really gone on the internet?):

In addition to Juventus, Arsenal FC could be ready to get serious about Gnabry, who — in recent reports — was leaning toward staying with Bayern Munich (per Football Talk):

90min has revealed that Arsenal are monitoring the contract stand off between Serge Gnabry and Bayern Munich and could try to lure the attacker back to England this summer.

Gnabry started his professional career with Arsenal in 2012 and managed to make 18 senior appearances before joining Bayern Munich in 2017. Since moving to the Allianz Arena, Gnabry has developed into one of the best attackers in Europe.

Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona have all been linked to Gnabry at one point or another in recent weeks.

ICYMI: The Weekend Warm-up Podcast — Season 1, Episode 56 (Bavarian Football Works)

Hey, hey, hey! No, it’s not Dwayne Nelson from What’s Happening...it’s me and I’m back for a couple of weeks (before I leave again).

While I am in town, however, I am hear to talk all things Bayern Munich and maybe some other junk, but here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at the latest on the three-way transfer saga involving Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski, and FC Barcelona.
• Assessing the current logjam in Bayern Munich’s attack.
• Check out the three center-backs linked to the Rekordmeister this week.
• Why we addressed the Julian Nagelsmann rumors when we really don’t care what he does.
• Borussia Dortmund is getting closer, but is not quite there yet.
• Why I get the attraction to So Cal.

This was also the final episode of season one of the Weekend Warm-up Podcast. Hopefully you have enjoyed it (or at least tolerated it!).

Mané is a finalist for the CAF Player of the Year Award (@iMiaSanMia)

Sadio Mané has been named one of 30 finalists for the Confederation of African Football’s Player of the Year Awards:

Inter getting close to Dybala deal...or not (@FabrizioRomano)

Former Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was a big fan of Paulo Dybala, but it appears that the Argentine attacker is no longer on the transfer radar of the Bavarians. Instead, Dybala could be nearing a move to Inter Milan: