Daily Schmankerl: Rant on the Bundesliga results here...; Liverpool, Manchester United eyeing Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala; Is Chelsea going off the rails?; Bernd Leno says Arsenal politics were annoying; & MORE!

United, LFC eyeing Musiala move (Sports Mole)

Recently Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić said he would not even sell Jamal Musiala for €120 million.

What about €150 million? If reports are true, Manchester United and Liverpool might be lining up their finances after Musiala’s recent interview detailing that he would not close the door on a return to England:

Liverpool and Manchester United are reportedly keeping a close eye on Jamal Musiala’s situation at Bayern Munich, with the youngster recently hinting at a future move to the Premier League. The 19-year-old spent time with Southampton and Chelsea as a youngster before joining Bayern in 2019, with his first-team debut for the Bundesliga giants coming in June 2020.

According to TEAMtalk, both Liverpool and Man United are keeping a close eye on the situation, having been given encouragement that the player is open to a return to England.

Musiala has a contract through the 2025/26 season, so there is no reason for anyone to get worked up yet, but there will undoubtedly be some deep-pocketed suitors from England eager to throw down nine figures for one of the continent’s most exciting players.

What is Chelsea doing? (@cfbayern)

Even with Thomas Tuchel out of the mix, Chelsea FC is still contemplating making an offer for RB Leipzig defender Joško Gvardiol in the winter transfer window:

This is one of the most bizarre “white whale” pursuits in recent memory. Gvardiol has great potential, but you would think that he needs to show more consistency before clubs start throwing down near-nine figure offers for him.

Even more odd, Gvardiol just inked a contract extension through 2026/27 with Die Roten Bullen, so any offer for him will have to be astronomical.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up — Season 2, Episode 10 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich pulled out a nice victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League after a disappointing showing against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga last weekend.

While Julian Nagelsmann has done a good job of managing his personnel, the recent lack of precision, efficiency, and synchronicity on offense has some fans mildly concerned.

Like always, there is plenty to talk about — including those issues listed above. Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this week’s episode:

• Why coaching is getting more difficult every year (as Thomas Tuchel and Domenico Tedesco found out — and as Jürgen Klopp might soon learn). Also, did we mention there are some unhappy players at Bayern Munich now?
• The FC Barcelona is going to tell us a lot about where Bayern Munich is at this stage.
• Matthijs de Ligt and Lucas Hernandez look great together.
• The midfield conundrum...Leon Goretzka wants to start, but Marcel Sabitzer has been great? What will happen there.
• Bayern Munich and Harry Kane might really be interested in forging a relationship in 2023.

Leno hated the politics with Arsenal (Sport Bild via ESPN)

Former Arsenal FC and current Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno blamed politics for his exit from the Gunners.

“When I realized that it wasn’t about performance or quality, I knew I had to go,” Leno told Sport Bild. “During the preparation I saw that it’s not about performance, it’s just about politics. It was clear to me: I have to get out of here. The most important thing for me is to find my rhythm again. Especially after I wasn’t actually able to train properly at Arsenal and had no preparation. It’s up to me to get the focus back on the national team.”

Leno finds himself on the outside looking in for Germany national team coach Hansi Flick’s World Cup roster. Manuel Neuer is a fixture, so he’ll have to edge out either FC Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen or Eintracht Frankfurt’s Kevin Trapp.

De Ligt impresses his boss (@iMiaSanMia)

Bayern Munich center-back Matthijs de Ligt is putting in work and Julian Nagelsmann has noticed.

“Despite his young age, he already has a big name and rightly so. His style of play suits my philosophy very well. He wasn’t quite fit when he first joined, but he is now. But the same goes for Upa and Luci, they both enjoy defending,” Nagelsmann said of the Juventus arrival.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. VfB Stuttgart (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich is coming off of consecutive draws in the Bundesliga (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Union Berlin) and is facing another team, who will likely be happy to pack eight or nine players into the box in hopes of squeezing out a point on the road — VfB Stuttgart.

Sitting in third place, Bayern Munich will have to find a way to break through offensively, but a lot will depend on who Julian Nagelsmann rolls out as part of his starting XI. Let take a look at what we have on tap for this episode:

• VfB Stuttgart’s recent form and why Bayern Munich fans should keep an eye on Borna Sosa and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
• A quick discussion Bayern Munich’s struggles in its past two league games.
• Some thoughts on who Nagelsmann might start — and why.
• A call for Sadio Mané to take a rest.
• A prediction on the match.

Sané straps on the pads (YouTube — FC Bayern)

Leroy Sané got a chance to look into the world of the other kind of football:

Sabitzer and Kimmich have some fun (@FCBayernUS)

We covered Joshua Kimmich’s Instagram joke about how he got his black eye, but now the FC Bayern US Twitter account caught the boys poking some fun at it as well:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Inter Milan 0-2 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

So Bayern Munich open their account in the Champions League with a solid 2-0 win over Inter Milan. Beating one of the strongest teams in Italy at their home ground might be cause for celebration in other cases, but many fans feel this one was a little bit frustrating. At least this puts the team in a solid position before facing FC Barcelona on MD2.

Here are our talking points from the game:

• Why a good result is also a disappointing performance from Bayern Munich.
• How Julian Nagelsmann decided to set up the team — in a 4-2-3-1, and its merits and disadvantages.
• Contrasting performances from Kingsley Coman and Sadio Mané.
• Frustration at Kingsley Coman’s final ball.
• How the two flanks felt incredibly imbalanced, with the right flank preferred by both Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller.
• A rare poor performance from Alphonso Davies.
• Praising Leroy Sané for an excellent performance, and contrasting it against his game vs Union.
• Why Joshua Kimmich needs to be acknowledged more.
• The difference between Leon Goretzka and Marcel Sabitzer in midfield and why the German sometimes offers more.
• Matthijs de Ligt’s clumsy but solid defending style.
• Is Manuel Neuer (gasp) starting to decline?
• How a lack of goals should worry the Bayern Munich fanbase heading into the next set of games.