Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich wary of knee issues with João Palhinha; Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United eye Juventus star Federico Chiesa; Eintracht Frankfurt could snatch Timo Werner and Schalke youngster; Chelsea, Man City want Inter star; & MORE!

Knee issues could halt Palhinha move for Bayern (CaughtOffside)

For months, it has been close to a foregone conclusion that Bayern Munich was — at least — going to make a strong effort to bring in Fulham FC defensive midfielder João Palhinha during the winter transfer window.

Now, though, a knee injury has put the potential in doubt:

At one stage it appeared that Fulham’s Joao Palhinha would be Bundesliga bound, and despite it believed that the player had even posed for photos in a Bayern shirt, the deal wasn’t able to be concluded in time.

Now, as SportBILD note, the entire transfer could be in jeopardy, with Bayern seemingly worried about the combative midfielder’s knee problem.

The outlet do hint at other concerns which has made the hierarchy at the Bavarian club think twice about concluding the deal in the upcoming January transfer window.

Not only will that be a huge blow to the player, who was perhaps looking forward to strutting his stuff in the Champions League and possibly winning the title, but financially for Fulham it’ll be a bitter pill to swallow.

Whatever the party line in public, the Cottagers would arguably benefit from having €65m/£55m (per SportBILD) deposited into club coffers.

Nothing is set in stone as yet and the move could still happen, however, it’s clear that Bayern are being much more cautious now.

Now, we also know that Bayern Munich has no intention of playing €65 million to Fulham for either, so it would appear — for the first time — that a move for the Portuguese star is in serious jeopardy.

Chiesa still could leave Juve (Calciomercatoweb via 90Min.com)

The name of Juventus star Federico Chiesa is still being bandied about on the transfer market as Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are both considering moves for the Italian star:

Tottenham Hotspur hope to fend off competition from Newcastle United to sign Juventus winger Federico Chiesa. The Serie A side are open to selling the £60m-rated star to help solve their financial worries.

Chiesa was closely linked to Bayern Munich last summer, but a move for the Italian star appears unlikely...unless at least one of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, or Leroy Sané decides to move on next summer, which appears unlikely at this point.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 3, Episode 16 (Bavarian Football Works)

It has been an active week for Bayern Munich...and BFW.

Aside of a big win in the Champions League for Bayern Munich over Galatasaray, we saw BFW crash (at the worst possible time), a slew of transfer rumors, and some iffy coaching decisions that all lead into a Bundesliga match vs. SV Darmstadt.

Clearly, this was a crazy week and we have plenty to talk about, so let’s get to it. Here is what is on tap for this episode:

• A preview of Bayern Munich vs. SV Darmstadt.
• Some thoughts on Bayern Munich’s win over Galatasaray in the Champions League.
• Thomas Tuchel’s handling of Thomas Müller is foretelling the future for the veteran.
• The latest transfer news on Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies.
• BFW’s big crash.
• Why losing sucks (duh!).

Eintracht enters race for Schalke youngster (@Plettigoal)

Eintracht Frankfurt has become the latest club to challenge Bayern Munich for Schalke 04 youngster Assan Ouédraogo:

Chelsea, City want Bastoni (Daily Mirror via 90Min.com)

Chelsea FC and Manchester City are reportedly taking a close look at Inter Milan center-back Alessandro Bastoni:

Another player on Chelsea’s radar is Inter centre-back Alessandro Bastoni, who is also wanted by Manchester City.

Before the club signing Kim Min-jae from Napoli, Bastoni was linked to Bayern Munich.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 6, Episode 15 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich picked up a win this weekend in the Bundesliga over Mainz 05, but bigger challenges lie ahead and the squad is officially battling #InjuryBlitz2023.

Leon Goretzka became the latest Bayern Munich player to sustain an injury and the Germany international will be out of action until roughly mid-November if things heal properly.

During a season where depth was going to be an issue, the Bavarians are hitting one pothole after another on the pathway to success. Let’s take a look at what is on tap for this week’s episode:

• Some final thoughts on Bayern Munich’s big win over Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga.
• How will Thomas Tuchel replace Leon Goretzka in the central midfield? Konrad Laimer? Jamal Musiala? Raphaël Guerreiro?
• A preview of Bayern Munich vs. Galatasaray in the Champions League.

Fortuna Düsseldorf offers free games to fans (The Athletic)

In what is a really astounding move, Fortuna Düsseldorf has made three home games free to attend this season:

On Saturday night, Fortuna Dusseldorf beat visitors Kaiserslautern 4-3 in the 2.Bundesliga — German football’s second tier. The home team’s stirring comeback was not the story, though, because the 52,000 in attendance at the Merkur Spiel-Arena had all been let in for free.

The Fortuna fur Alle (Fortuna for Everyone) project was announced back in the spring. The club committed to a pilot scheme of not charging to attend three of their home games in the 2023-24 season, with the aim of making all their home fixtures free within five years.

Why? Fortuna believe that this is their route back to the top flight. They were last there in 2020, but have played in all of Germany’s top four divisions over the past two decades.

Through these free-entry games, the people behind Fortuna fur Alle aim to create a stronger link between the club and their community of supporters. They want to grow the fanbase, too, and capitalise on this unique selling point. The hope is commercial partners will invest in that too.

Clearly, it is a gamble.

Per game, revenue from public ticketing amounts to anywhere between €450,000 (£391,000) and €500,000 (£435,000). To cover that shortfall, Fortuna hope to engage more sponsors. It amounts to around 20 per cent of the club’s annual revenue. They do not own their stadium, either, and while a more balanced relationship is on the horizon, the city — not the club — is the main beneficiary of in-stadium concession sales.

Those critical of this project fear that sponsor investment and influence will come at the cost of the fan agency which is such an established part of the culture. Jobst’s counter to that is to promise full transparency on how revenue is directed and for 50 per cent of it to be directed away from the men’s team, towards the youth and women’s teams and also local social projects.

Werner’s status at Leipzig in doubt (@Plettigoal)

Like a bad relationship with an ex-girlfriend, sometimes returning to a soccer club after you leave it is not a good move.

Running it back does not always work and it appears that Timo Werner is slowly finding that out at RB Leipzig.

A new coach, a new philosophy, and a new cast of players have contributed to a turning o the page at Die Roten Bullen. When Werner came back to provide team’s attack, it provided that initial burst.

However, this season, Werner has been plagued by injury and the club appears to have turned the page on him this time. A move this winter or over the summer is a legitimate possibility and Eintracht Frankfurt could be willing to work with the Germany international:

ℹ️ Not an easy situation for Timo Werner. Currently, he’s not a regular starter, partly due to some injuries.

➡️ Nonetheless, he’s not considering a move at the moment, and Leipzig also doesn’t want to let him go

➡️ But Werner wants to play more!

➡️ A transfer to @Eintracht is not an issue for all involved.

Werner wants to fight for his chance. 117 minutes and one ⚽️ this Bundesliga season yet.

@philipphinze24 @SkySportDE