Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich eyeing Bundesliga midfielder?; Manchester United scoping Bayern-linked strikers; Cristiano Ronaldo takes footy to another level per Weston McKennie; Real Madrid plotting Borussia Dortmund raid; & MORE!

Bayern looking at Kamada? (Sponichianex via @iMiaSanMia)

According to a report out of Japan, Bayern Munich is one of several clubs with interest in Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Daichi Kamada, who has been a key player in the success that his team is achieving this season. Tottenham Hotspur and FC Barcelona are also among those interested clubs:

Bayern are among clubs showing interest in signing Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Daichi Kamada (26) on a free transfer in the summer. Tottenham and Barcelona are also in for the player, with competition likely to heat up even more.

I cannot fathom how Bayern Munich would be contemplating spending more money on the central midfield for the 2023/24 season at this point.

United’s striker options for summer are growing (ESPN)

Manchester United is looking to add a striker next summer and has a few players in its crosshairs — including Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, Red Bull Salzburg’s Benjamin Sesko (who is already transferring to RB Leipzig in July), Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen:

Sources told ESPN last month that United were also considering moves for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and FC Salzburg’s Benjamin Sesko. Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic could also become an option if the Italian club are forced to sell the Serbia international, who was signed in a €70m transfer from Fiorentina in January 2022, due to the financial impact of being demoted 15 points for transfer irregularities. But Osimhen’s form for Napoli this season has led to both United and PSG putting the forward high on their list of priority targets.

A source has told ESPN that Napoli will not part with Osimhen for less than €100m, however, and that the prospect of United and PSG both making a serious effort to sign the player has raised the possibility of an even greater fee. Osimhen has two years left to run on his contract at Napoli, having arrived at the club in a €70m move from Lille in 2020.

Sources told ESPN last month that United completed a six-month loan deal for Burnley’s Netherlands international forward Wout Weghorst in order to avoid committing to an 18-month contract for a permanent signing, thereby enabling the club to be free to pursue the top-class centre-forward manager Erik ten Hag has identified as a priority this summer.

Oddly, Bayern Munich has been linked to those strikers at different points as well.

Real Madrid to pursue two BVB players? (AS via 90Min.com)

According to AS, Real Madrid is “saving money” to make its move for Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham:

Real Madrid have been saving money for their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham and are prepared to throw everything they have at the England international in the summer.

Los Blancos are apparently not done there when shopping at BVB, either. Per Defensa Central, Real Madrid also wants Karim Adeyemi:

Following Bellingham from Dortmund to Real Madrid could be Germany forward Karim Adeyemi, who has also been identified as a summer target.

Adeyemi has not been great with Borussia Dortmund this season, but does still have a lot of potential.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 30 (Bavarian Football Works)

Since the last edition of the Weekend Warm-up, Bayern Munich had another draw (this time against Eintracht Frankfurt), closed out its winter transfer in a scintillating fashion, and picked up a convincing win in the DFB-Pokal over Mainz 05.

In between all of that, there was a ton of news.

In other words, there was a hell of a lot to talk about before we even get to all of the normal drama (questions about Alphonso Davies, different questions about Julian Nagelsmann, etc). So...let’s get to it. This is what we have on tap for this weekend’s episode:

• A preview of Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg, including Niko Kovac’s dig at his old club.
• Grading the winter transfer window.
• What has been up with Alphonso Davies?
• The world of Julian Nagelsmann, his interactions with the squad, his use of a back three, and more!

Somebody restrain Quentin Tarantino (@ESPNFC)

This story from Weston McKennie about Cristiano Ronaldo is a good one:

Aubameyang suffers the unkindest cut (@FabrizioRomano)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got chopped from Chelsea FC’s Champions League roster:

Ziyech’s transfer mess was somehow even messier than first thought (ESPN)

By now, everyone has heard the sad tale of Hakim Ziyech’s potential loan to Paris Saint-Germain being botched. What exactly happened, though? ESPN’s sources said it went down something like this:

Sources have told ESPN that PSG argue Chelsea were late to send the paperwork to finalise the transfer due to errors with the documents — the first document included a mistake, the second Chelsea forgot to sign and by the time the third was submitted it was too late.

The LFP legal committee met on Wednesday to discuss the registration but decided against approving the loan.

But wait! There’s more! Apparently, PSG was not the only French club dealing with issues on deadline day. Another unnamed French team had the person handling transfers go on strike:

PSG were not the only French club to have a fraught deadline day, with a source telling ESPN that another Ligue 1 club had a shock when they realised the member of staff meant to process transfers was on strike.

The club had just agreed a deal to sign a new player for a substantial amount of money. It was a player that the manager really wanted, in a position where the team needed an upgrade, and everyone in the organisation is delighted by the move. The only thing which needed doing was filing all the paperwork to register the transfer. At this club, there is one person with that responsibility. They have has been doing it for years, and they are the only at the club who knows how it all works.

But Tuesday was not just transfer deadline day in France; it was also a major day of strikes and protests against planned pensions reforms that President Emmanuel Macron’s government is trying to pass. When the club realised that this key person was on strike and absent, one panicking director had to call a counterpart at another club to learn how to file the paperwork and register the new player. They managed to do register the move in time, but it was a close call

What is the French word for debacle?

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Mainz 0-4 Bayern Munich (DFB Pokal)

They say a wounded animal is the most dangerous, and Bayern Munich proved that tonight. Coming into this must-win game vs Mainz in the notoriously tricky DFB Pokal, the team proceeded to vanquish the demons of recent games by producing a wonderful 4-0 win.

Here are our talking points from the game:

• A review of the starting XI and the strange back three setup.
• Why left wingback might be a perfect position for Kingsley Coman.
• A quick recap of how the game went and how the setup performed.
• The intangible and tangible benefits of Thomas Muller + his partnership with Jamal Musiala.
• Another example of the second-half syndrome and another drop in intensity that went unpunished.
• The potential problems with the back-three setup and how Mainz adjusted to it.
• An overall review of Joao Cancelo and why he seemed perfectly in sync with the rest of the attack.
• How the benefits of this setup could be translated to a 4-2-3-1.
• Why Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is good enough for Bayern’s goals this season.
• A note on the pitch, the referee, and how passing is trained at this club.