Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur vying for FC Barcelona prodigy; Real Madrid could have busted up Bayern move; Benfica wanted PSG’s Renato Sanches back; Marcus Thuram’s list of suitors; and MORE!

Bayern looking at Barca’s Fati? (Barca Universal)

Bayern Munich, Arsenal FC, and Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs looking to make a move for FC Barcelona attacker Ansu Fati:

With Ansu Fati struggling to gain a foothold in the Barcelona setup under Xavi Hernandez this season, questions are starting to rise over his long-term future at the club.

Now, though, Mundo Deportivo is claiming that several other top clubs from across Europe are showing an interest in Ansu Fati heading into the summer. Indeed, as per the report, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are among four Premier League clubs interested in the Barcelona forward. Along with them, Bayern Munich are also said to be keen on the 20-year-old, with the report stating that the German champions hold the strongest interest in signing Ansu from Barcelona.

There has been no offer made from the Bavarian giants or any other club interested in the La Masia graduate. But interest seems to be rising in Fati’s services as his involvement in Barça colours continues to be limited.

Fati signed a new contract with Barcelona in 2021, prolonging his stay at the club until 2027. The new deal also came with a mammoth €1 billion release clause. So, despite the interest in him, it seems unfathomable that Barça would consider selling their No. 10.

Meanwhile, Manchester United is considered to be another contender in the bidding per AS:

Ansu Fati (20) is reportedly wanted by Premier League side Manchester United in what would be an astonishing coup for Erik ten Hag and his Premier League project. The forward, who was born in Guinea-Bissau, but moved to Spain when he was 6 years old, is said to be “a priority” for the English club should Barcelona entertain the possibility in the summer market.

Madrid was offered Cancelo, too (@FabrizioRomano)

Transfer wizard Fabrizio Romano offered up this nugget on which club also approached Manchester City on a move for Joao Cancelo:

We might have never known about Bayern’s interest if Real Madrid reconsidered things and eventually thwarted Bayern Munich’s loan move for Cancelo.

Leitzig lighting up (@dw_sports)

Not to jump into LKChuggz’s “Loan Watch” grave or anything, but Bayern Munich Frauen loanee Jana Leitzig racked up 15 saves for Leicester City against Manchester City on Saturday:

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!

Benfica tried to bring back Sanches (Fichajes)

There were a lot of people saying how poorly Bayern Munich handled Renato Sanches — and some others stating that perhaps it was the midfielder who was the problem.

Maybe it was both...who knows? One thing is certain, however, and that is that multiple changes of scenery have not helped the former Golden Boy winner reach the level of play that was expected of him.

Benfica, however, wanted to give him a fresh start — and tried to do so before the end of the winter transfer window. Paris Saint-Germain, however, still have plans for the midfielder:

Close to reaching an agreement to sign Nélson Semedo once the winger’s contract with Wolverhampton expires, Benfica are interested in another gem from their youth academy. During the winter transfer window, Rui Costa’s side explored the possibility of signing Renato Sanches from PSG.

Recently arrived in Paris from Lille, the Portuguese did not move from the Gallic capital. As reported on the front page of A Bola, the Parisian side are counting on the 25-year-old midfielder. Although injuries have been a stumbling block for Sanches, who has accumulated 602 minutes in 17 games, PSG have not considered his departure during the month of January.

Thuram to Atleti? (Sport1)

Borussia Mönchengladbach attacker Marcus Thuram has a host of clubs following him including Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter Milan, Liverpool FC, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea FC, and, now, Atlético Madrid:

The winter transfer window is closed - but the rumors about possible changes do not want to be silenced. According to information from the Spanish newspaper As, Atlético Madrid is still on the hunt for Gladbach star Marcus Thuram after the 25-year-old was not transferred in winter.

Several clubs, including the Madrilenians, tried unsuccessfully to win the French World Cup participant in January. According to As, Atlético does not want to give up and insists on a deal in the summer when Thuram’s contract with Borussia expires.

Talks with the striker about a contract extension have always failed. Atlético, on the other hand, signed Dutch attacker Memphis Depay after the departure of Joao Félix.

As AS continues to write, Atlético is not the only team that is looking at a summer change. Juventus Turin, Inter Milan, Liverpool FC, Arsenal FC, Tottenham Hotspur should also have Thuram on the list. Recently, an interest from Chelsea FC had been reported.

It could be decisive which team will definitely qualify for the Champions League. With teams like Juve, Liverpool and Tottenham, that is precisely what is still in the balance. Thuram switched from EA Guingamp to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2019. In this Bundesliga season he has ten goals and three assists.

Does Davies have an answer? (@BlackYellow)

A challenge has been thrown down to Bayern Munich star by Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi:

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.