Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid battling over defensive starlet?; Sadio Mané unhappy at Bayern?; Are Kylian Mbappe and Phil Foden more valuable than Erling Haaland?; Did Bayern bid on Pedri back in 2020?; & MORE!

Bayern, LFC, Madrid eyeing Bella-Kotchap (Madrid Universal)

Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Real Madrid are all reportedly keen on Southampton center-back Armel Bella-Kotchap:

Real Madrid have taken an interest in Southampton defender Armel Bella-Kotchap, who is also on the radars of Liverpool and Bayern Munich, as reported by Fichajes.

The 20-year-old Bella-Kotchap impressed in Germany with VfL Bochum before securing a transfer to Southampton this past summer. And since arriving in England, the centre-back has made a huge impression with his performances for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

All three clubs are said to be keeping tabs on the 20-year-old’s development as they see him as someone who can be a leader of the defence in the future.

It is hard to think that Bella-Kotchap would be on Bayern Munich’s radar right now given how much the club has invested in Lucas Hernandez, Dayot Upamecano, and Matthijs de Ligt.

If — and this would be a big if at this stage — Hernandez decided to leave and the club could not retain Benjamin Pavard, then maybe Bella-Kotchap would be an option.

Either way, Bella-Kotchap earned his first call-up to the German national team as well. Not a bad week for the kid, eh?

Mané unhappy at Bayern? (Sport Witness)

According to Didi Hamann, Sadio Mané “doesn’t look happy” at Bayern Munich.

“He is not integrated,” Hamann told GMX. “I saw him at Liverpool FC, where he played through the middle. That is not his position. Now he’s taking that position at FC Bayern as well. He is at his best when he comes from the outside. He doesn’t look happy to me. Other players like Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala or, in defense, Lucas Hernandez, who is injured at the moment, are putting in outstanding performances. Nobody is talking about Mané at the moment. He seems isolated and hardly takes part in the game. FC Bayern has to get a grip on that.”

I don’t know if Mané is unhappy as much as he is going through a bit of a funk at this point. It just seems like he might need to string together some good showings to get his confidence back to where it needs to be.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast — Season 2, Episode 11 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich will soon set off for an international break, but there is a ton to talk about. We had some mini-controversies emerge this week, plus a HUGE Champions League win over FC Barcelona as the big happenings, but there was plenty more to discuss as well.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Checking on where we think Bayern Munich stands entering the final week of the Bundesliga before the international break.
• Germany’s latest round of call-ups.
• Re-upping Benjamin Pavard and Alexander Nübel might not be easy.
• Why Bayern Munich could really have something in Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimović — and what that could mean moving forward.
• Some Bayern Munich players probably are unhappy, but it’s fine for now.
• House of the Dragon got icky.

Did Bayern make an offer on Pedri? (@cfbayern)

Sport Bild’s Christian Falk says that Bayern Munich did not make an offer to FC Barcelona for Pedri back in 2020:

We do know that Bayern Munich had interest in Pedri back then and maybe even last year, but it has always been unclear if the club made a formal offer for the midfielder.

Football’s most valuable players (@Transfersdotcom)

Football Transfers has put together the list of the sport’s most valuable players and my beef would be that Erling Haaland is not ranked No.1

I’d take Haaland over Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, Manchester City’s Phil Foden, and Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. in a heartbeat:

No buy-back for Richards (@cfbayern)

Contrary to some reports, Bayern Munich does not hold a buy-back option on Nottingham Forest defender Omar Richards:

Shots fired (@dw_sports)

I’ll just leave this here:

Bavarian Podcast Works Preview Show — Augsburg vs. Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)

Bayern Munich is coming off of a huge performance against Barcelona; in a game of two halves, they looked very nervous in the first half and quite assured in the next. Now, ahead of the international break, Bayern must produce a much-needed Bundesliga win against local rivals FC Augsburg. In this podcast we talk about:

• Augsburg’s run in the Bundesliga so far
• An in-depth look at Augsburg’s last performance against Werder Bremen
• Changes that have taken place in terms of personnel at the club
• How Augsburg might set up against Bayern
• What Bayern’s personnel shortage means for the defense
• Who will Julian Nagelsmann play next to Joshua Kimmich?
• Who will occupy the front four slots?