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No thanks...(Florian Plettenberg via @iMiaSanMia)
Those rumors linking Bayern Munich to Eintracht Frankfurt standout Randal Kolo Muani had some fans excited at the prospect of the talented Frenchman taking the reins as the new No. 9 in Bavaria.
If you were one of those folks, you might want to reconsider now that we know the (alleged) asking price from Eintracht Frankfurt:
Bayern are monitoring Kolo Muani, but there’s still no contact. The player’s plan is to stay in Frankfurt next season if they qualify to Europe. Otherwise, it would be tough for Eintracht to keep him beyond the summer. Price tag in the summer likely around €100m.
For €100 million, I think I want a more established (and frankly better) player. This is not a knock on Kolo Muani, but nine figures is a lot of money.
No winter move for Bellingham (Sport1)
Whatever eventually happens with Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham remains to be seen, but we do know that he will not leave the club this winter. Liverpool FC, Manchester City, and Real Madrid are considered the top contenders for the BVB midfielder:
Which jersey will Jude Bellingham wear next summer? Staying at BVB seems increasingly unlikely, also due to the strong performance at BVB. The Spanish sports newspaper As from Madrid is now writing about an “ultimate summit” that is to be held in the coming days. Accordingly, BVB asked the Bellingham side for a meeting at which the 19-year-old should announce his decision whether he wanted to leave the club at the end of the season.
This meeting, in which Dortmund’s boss Hans-Joachim Watzke and sports director Sebastian Kehl are to take part, should take place before January 6th. Then BVB travels to the training camp in Marbella. According to SPORT1 information, the club is now assuming a farewell, but a change in winter is definitely out of the question, regardless of Bellingham’s decision.
With Liverpool FC, Manchester City and Real Madrid, three clubs have the highest hopes for one of the greatest talents in world football.
According to AS (as captured by 90Min.com), Borussia Dortmund wants to meet with Bellingham to get a feel for what he is thinking regarding his future:
Borussia Dortmund will demand a meeting with Jude Bellingham before January 6 for an answer about his future. Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid are the leading suitors for his signature.
Ancelotti wants Konate (Media Foot via 90Min.com)
Former Bayern Munich manager and current Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti wants Ibrahima Konate for his backline:
Carlo Ancelotti also wants Real Madrid to try and sign Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate this summer.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 2, Episode 25 (Bavarian Football Works)
It has been a wild holiday week at BFW.
There is a ton of Bayern Munich news going on and we have just the platform for you to talk about it all.
One way to get your thoughts in motion is to give our Weekend Warm-up Podcast a listen. On this episode we discuss the following topics:
- Alexander Nübel’s hardline decision to spurn an offer to return from his loan at AS Monaco to Bayern Munich.
- Bayern Munich’s eagerness to lock up Lucas Hernandez, Alphonso Davies, and Jamal Musiala to long-term deals.
- Bayern Munich’s ongoing interest in Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz and what it might eventually mean for the future of the roster.
- Is Leroy Sané pondering a move away from Bayern Munich? If so, do you believe that Real Madrid rumor?
- Matthijs de Ligt needs to be better in the second half of the season and why Bayern Munich’s season might depend on it.
- Some brief thoughts on Andor.
There’s no easy way out for Draxler (Sport1)
Julian Draxler has had a helluva ride, eh?
Leaving Paris Saint-Germain was supposed to reignite his career, but his loan to Benfica has not worked out...at all:
Julian Draxler failed to impress during his loan spell at Benfica Lisbon. According to Portuguese media reports, the 29-year-old should therefore return to his main club Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the season, where he is still under contract until 2024.
But even there, coach Christophe Galtier should still not plan with him, just like sports director Luis Campos, who sent Draxler on loan to Lisbon in the summer for that reason alone.
Since then, Draxler has made just six league appearances for Benfica and has failed to impress, scoring just once. The fact that he was recently unable to play due to a thigh muscle injury probably reinforces Benfica’s intentions to send Draxler back to France.
How it will continue after that is open. PSG will probably want to get rid of him again. However, there could be difficulties on the interested side. Because already this year Paris had to pay 80% of his salary to get rid of the offensive player at all.
Draxler’s international career appears to be over and his club career is sputtering. You could really argue that his move to PSG was a career killer.
Opening for Hammers to get Phillips? (Football Insider)
Did a little prodding from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola give West Ham United some hope that it would procure Kalvin Phillips? It appears so:
West Ham have reignited their interest in Man City star Kalvin Phillips, sources have told Football Insider. The Londoners were linked with a £50million bid for the midfielder, 27, last January when he was still at Leeds United.
Now, West Ham have been alerted by City boss Pep Guardiola surprisingly going public to condemn Phillips for being “overweight” and in poor condition when he returned after the World Cup. The Irons expect to lose Declan Rice in the summer window when he will have just a year left on his contract after he rejected multiple offers to extend it.
Phillips is highly rated by manager David Moyes and seen as capable of replacing Rice if he leaves. The midfielder could even be available for less than the fee paid by City last summer, of £42m plus £3m add-ons.
The former Leeds midfielder has played just one minute of Premier League football since his move to the Etihad in the summer and looks to be falling further and further down in Guardiola’s pecking order.
Chelsea trying to challenge Gunners on Mudryk (The Sun)
Chelsea FC is looking to challenge Arsenal for Shakhtar Donetsck star Mykhaylo Mudryk:
CHELSEA are attempting to hijack Arsenal’s move for Mykhaylo Mudryk and are set for talks with the Blues in London this week. Arsenal’s latest offer for the Shakhtar Donetsk star is £62million, but is still well below the Ukrainian side’s asking price.
Despite the Gunners having already agreed personal terms over a five-year deal, worth around £120k-a-week, with Mudryk, Chelsea are set to enter the fray having already started discussions. If the Blues agree to meet the asking price, around £60million with another £20million in add-ons, and offer better terms than the Gunners they could pip the Premier League leaders to the deal.
And Shakhtar sporting director, Darijo Srna, is set to travel to London for talks this week. Mudryk has long teased a move to The Emirates, having openly discussed his desire to join the club as well as posting pictures of him watching recent games on social media.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 27 (Bavarian Football Works)
So 2022 is over and it’s time for a retrospective. Bayern Munich had a very mediocre 2022 which saw a dearth of success domestically and internationally. While the club won a 10th consecutive Bundesliga title, an early exit in the Champions League and poor showing by Bayern players at the World Cup mean that 2022 leaves a very bad taste in the mouth. However, if thing go right, 2023 could be a LOT better.
In this episode, Tom and INNN talk about the following:
- Recapping how 2022 went for Bayern Munich, especially the many (many) lows.
- How injuries, illness, and outgoing transfers hurt Bayern last year.
- How, paradoxically, Bayern’s upcoming Champions League opponents (PSG) ended up having a great 2022.
- Was 2022 worse than 2012? No, but it still feels bad.
- Moving onto 2023 — do we feel optimistic about what’s coming?
- Here it starts. A looooooooooong list of reasons why Bayern will have a much better 2023 compared to 2022. If you listened to the whole thing, then can you name every single one?
- How the uncertainty around Manuel Neuer’s future makes it hard for the club to sign a proper replacement for this season.
- Closing off our first podcast of our calendar year on an optimistic note.
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