Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s pursuit of Gavi could spur Liverpool, Manchester United proposals; Robert Lewandowski’s big release clause at FC Barcelona; Agent Erling Haaland works magic for Manchester City; Kylian Mbappe talks Neymar feud; & MORE!

Gavi to stay with Barca? (@moillorens)

The recent rumors detailing Bayern Munich’s interest in Gavi seem to have stirred things up.

FC Barcelona might be getting a little more practice in trying to ink the midfielder to a new deal in hopes of cutting off a potential pursuit from Bayern Munich:

On Gavi:

-Despite the interest of clubs like @FCBayern, the player is more than convinced to continue in @FCBarcelona

-Once the market is over and with cleaner agendas, both the club and its agent, Iván de la Peña, are looking for a date to sign documents

@espnfc @ESPNDeportes

Meanwhile, The Sun (via Sky) is reporting that Bayern Munich’s intertest in Gavi could have a trickle-down effect. Liverpool and Manchester United could ramp up their own interest in the midfielder:

Bayern Munich are ready to make a move for Barcelona midfielder Gavi in January, according to reports in Germany, which could force Liverpool and Manchester United to react. Gavi continues to refuse to sign a new deal at the Nou Camp.

Lothar picks Bayern to win UCL (Sempre Inter)

Lothar Matthäus thinks Bayern Munich is the favorite to win the Champions League.

“I’ll say Bayern Munich. They’ve had a great transfer window. It’s true, they lost Robert Lewandowski, and I would have thought the favorite to replace him would have been Romelu Lukaku,” Matthäus told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 9 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich once again could not find a way past Borussia Mönchengladbach and settled for a draw, but rebounded with a nice win over Viktoria Köln in the DFB-Pokal.

Even with all of the action on the pitch, there was still a lot to talk about off of it. Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this episode:

• Assessing the club’s performances against Gladbach and Viktoria Köln.
• Bayern Munich’s depth is incredible.
• It’s a matter of time before Matthijs de Ligt is an anointed full-time starter.
• Daydreaming about a Bayern Munich vs. Manchester City Champions League finale.
• A look at Bayern Munich’s transfer window.

Haaland stumped for Akanji at City (Sport1)

Former Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland put in a good word for Manuel Akanji ahead of the Swiss defender’s move to Manchester City:

For a long time, Inter Milan was considered the favorite to sign the Swiss national player. However, Inter could not handle the entire package for Akanji, as SPORT1 chief reporter Patrick Berger revealed in the Instagram live talk. The lead to Leicester City wasn’t as hot as it was sometimes made out to be either.

In the end, Pep Guardiola struck and brought in the fifth central defender - also thanks to the help of Erling Haaland, as Berger revealed.

“Agent Haaland, so to speak! In the background, the Norwegian played a not inconsiderable role in the transfer to City,” reported the SPORT1 chief reporter.

Akanji and Haaland “understand each other very well from Dortmund times and of course the distances are still short there,” explained Berger: “It’s normal for the sports director or Guardiola to look to Haaland, exchange ideas and they ask: ‘Is that a player who can help us?’ And according to SPORT1 information, Haaland put in a good word for Akanji.”

Mbappe speaks on Neymar “feud” (Sport Bild)

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar have had a not-so-secret feud going on and the French star acknowledged that, while everything is not exactly rosy between the two, things are not that bad.

“It’s my sixth year with Neymar. We’ve always had a relationship like this, based on respect. Sometimes there are colder and sometimes warmer moments,” said Mbappe.

Well...at least Neymar is not having a witchdoctor cast a spell on Mbappe...so there’s that.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Union Berlin 1-1 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

It’s happened again. After an amazing start to the season, Bayern Munich have suffered a second consecutive draw to Union Berlin, putting an end to the perceived invincibility of this side. With Champions League games starting up again, it’s a very bad time for Julian Nagelsmann to hit a bump in the road.

Here are our talking points from the game:

• Bayern Munich draw yet again thanks to some staunch defending by Union Berlin. Should that concern us? (Answer: Yes.)
• Addressing Nagelsmann’s choice to have a lack of width on the pitch.
• Why this Union game result differs greatly from what happened against Gladbach.
• Sadio Mane’s terrible, not-good, very bad game. Is the honeymoon over?
• The problem with Leroy Sane today.
• Addressing the rest of the forward line and their issues.
• Why Julian Nagelsmann needs to bring the unpredictability back to Bayern’s attack.
• Pointing out a few good performances — Matthijs de Ligt and Marcel Sabitzer.

Brambati expecting furious effort from Inter (Sempre Inter)

Former Serie A defender Massimo Brambati thinks Inter Milan is going to bring the noise to its champions League showdown with Bayern Munich.

“I expect fury and something more from Inter,” the former defender said, “who are now more of a team than Juventus. Lately. However, Inter don’t seem like as much of a team to me, they seem less united,” Brambati told TMW Radio. “I know that Inter’s locker room under Conte was a real locker room, and now it’s something a bit different,” he added. “I’ve been getting this sense for a while.”

Lewy’s monstrous release clause (The Mirror via Sky)

Former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski — allegedly — has a crazy release clause of €500 million:

The finer details of Robert Lewandowski’s complex Barcelona contract have emerged - including the Polish striker’s staggering €500m (£431m) release clause.

Boniek expecting entertaining drama in Group C (Sempre Inter)

Former Juventus and Roma midfielder Zbigniew Boniek thinks Group C is going to be a fierce battle between Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and FC Barcelona.

“Assuming that everyone wins their matches against Viktoria, the matches between Inter, Bayern, and Barcelona will be fantastic. It will be a tough group,” Boniek told Rai Radio.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Season 5, Episode 10 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich have dropped points in two league games in a row, and now proceed into the Champions League with a less-than-stellar recent record. Thankfully Inter aren’t exactly faring too great themselves, but they will look at the Union Berlin game and maybe have a few ideas about how they should set up their team.

In this episode, INNN and Schnitzel discuss:

• The many times Bayern Munich have been eliminated by parked buses in the Champions League in the past.
• Does the lack of defensive teams in the Bundesliga put Bayern at a disadvantage in the CL?
• Why Thomas Muller is the main key to this Julian Nagelsmann system.
• Schnitzel and INNN argue over whether the coach has made recent changes to the system.
• Moving onto our preview for Inter Milan — what do we know about them?
• Should Matthijs de Ligt start against Inter? Assessing the threat of Edin Dzeko.
• Possible changes in midfield from Nagelsmann.
• How should the attack be set up? Should Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, or Kingsley Coman start?
• Final thoughts and a prediction for the game.