Weekend Warm-up: Bayern Munich should finish the job and ink Matthijs de Ligt; What to do about Konrad Laimer?; Assessing Stranger Things; Throwing it back to Ben Lee; and MORE!

What a massive week of transfer news for Bayern Munich.

Robert Lewandowski had found out that “there’s no easy way” of Bavaria, while the front office has rekindled it once torrid love affair with Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt.

Way back when I started at BFW, De Ligt was one of the very first stories I covered. It was just some initial interest from Bayern Munich with the player and I watched that story evolve from De Ligt looking like he would ink a deal with Bayern Munich to his star exploding and drawing the interest of every big club in Europe.

While he was linked to Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and others, De Ligt ultimately chose a huge offer from Juventus. It can be argued (by some) that the move was a bit of a mistake. While he has still progressed and improved, Juventus has not been the most stable club and might not have made for the best learning environment.

With multiple coaching changes, the arrival and subsequent exit of Cristiano Ronaldo, and a pretty steady flow of upheaval, De Ligt probably was not set up to really make the best use of his time in Italy — but he still made strides in his game.

Now, though, the defender seems ready to leave the club and Bayern Munich is at the forefront of the pursuit. This time, the Bavarians should do what it takes to get the deal done and have a foundational piece at center-back to help lead the club into its next generation.

So, what do you say...should Bayern Munich buck up and get this deal done? Tell us what statement most aptly fits your attitude toward a deal.

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

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

Song of the Week: “Catch My Disease” by Ben Lee

With this at the tail end of a pretty good week off of the pitch for Bayern Munich, I felt like we needed to keep things upbeat — and this song burst into my mind.

Released in 2005 (17 years ago!?), it’s catchy, feel-good, and self-deprecating, which are all things I am a fan of in a song. Granted this is not as heavy as some other songs featured here, but let’s keep the good times rolling into the weekend:

Laimer-ing in Wait

Bayern Munich will have to make a tough call in the coming weeks. Manager Julian Nagelsmann is pushing hard to convince his bosses to acquire RB Leipzig defensive midfielder Konrad Laimer. Aside of his on-field tackling and ball-winning, Laimer would present Nagelsmann with even more tactical flexibility.

Already with the personnel in hand to run excellent variations of a 4-2-3-1 or a 3-4-2-1, getting Laimer would present Nagelsmann with the ability to put out a pretty strong 4-3-3 as well. For a coach who seems to like to tinker as much as Nagelsmann, this could be invaluable — at least to him.

To the club, Laimer might cost as much as €30 million. Because of that, recent reports indicate that Bayern Munich is willing to wait it out and take Laimer on a free transfer next summer. Like De Ligt, Laimer — allegedly — only wants a move to Bayern Munich, so there might not even be legitimate competition should the Austrian hit free agency.

Entertainment Rundown

Okay...I caught up on what I was watching!

What was completed

Stranger Things: So...wow. What a season. I loved how we saw the origin of how this all started and the groundwork for the beginning of the end of the series. I have always loved this show for the 80s nostalgia. From styles to music to vernacular to storylines, this show was written pretty much perfectly capture the vibe of the 80s and the attention of the audience. As a child of the 80s, I cannot rave enough about how this easily could have produced back then. I am also a sucker for seeing a logical genesis for a story (even one steeped in the Sci-Fi / Fantasy genre) and neat and tidy ending — which it appears we will get. When all is said and done, I think this will break into my top five of shows all-time.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: I thought the season was very good and extremely well done. Seeing how some of the time gaps were filled in the lives of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader was fascinating. I did find it odd how Vader could not sense anything with Leia at any point, but I am sure there is a canonical reason for that or something. Ewan MacGregor was terrific and it was good to see Hayden Christensen dust off his Anakin boots. I was happy with the end result and how the story was portrayed. I am not saying it was perfect, but it was very good and worthwhile for any Star Wars fan.

What’s in progress

The Boys: Man...this season...it’s equally fantastic, disturbing, crazy, and enthralling. I’m all caught up with the exception of the season finale, which I will watch tonight.

Peaky Blinders: I have started the latest season (albeit it way late) and while I am enjoying the episodes so far, the movement that started last season with the Shelbys being more involved in politics seems like a stretch. I get what they are doing and why they are doing it, but it does feel a little forced. Some storylines, of course, had to be altered because of the untimely real-life passing of Helen McCrory. I am intrigued to see where this all goes and how it all ends, but for the first time, I am feeling like the show might have run out of ideas. That all could change in the coming episodes that I have not seen yet, though, so I’ll reserve final judgement until I complete the season.

What’s on deck

Better Call Saul: The final part of the final season of the Breaking Bad prequel is about to kick off and I am pumped to see the conclusion (though we already know where Saul is headed). I am especially excited to see if — and how — they address Saul/Jimmy’s post-Breaking Bad life in hiding...or if there is a chance there will be a sequel to close out that storyline, like El Camino did for the character of Jesse Pinkman.

House of the Dragon: I have pretty eschewed HBO shows of late because I just have not been all that interested in the content they’ve been putting out. When seeing the trailer, though, I was intrigued by what I saw...perhaps capturing that long-ago buried Game of Thrones fan still living somewhere inside of my brain. I hated the last season and a half of Game of Thrones and have had this weird resentment to the GoT Universe. Part of me wonders if my subconscious frustration with the show will allow me to try and enjoy it objectively or if I will go full “Comic Book Guy” from The Simpsons and not give it a chance.