Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona battling for Irish sensation?; Bayern out on Chelsea’s Kai Havertz?; Real Madrid the next home for Juventus star?; Is Manchester City laying the groundwork with Josko Gvardiol?; & MORE!

Bayern, Barca battling over promising attacker (90Min.com)

Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona are the latest clubs who have expressed interest in 18-year-old Irish forward Evan Ferguson. The Brighton and Hove Albion attacker is opening eyes all over Europe:

Bayern Munich and Barcelona have joined the lengthy list of clubs scouting Republic of Ireland forward Evan Ferguson, 90min understands. (Ferguson)’s form has, as expected, caught the eye of a number of Europe’s top clubs. 90min understands that Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are the latest of these clubs to scout Ferguson, watching the forward’s impressive Ireland debut at the Aviva on Wednesday.

Along with Bayern, SSC Napoli and Barcelona have also watched Ferguson, with sources close to Barca telling 90min that the club see him as a “player of huge potential.” There’s plenty of Premier League interest too. Chelsea, Newcastle United and Liverpool have all scouted the Irish striker - the latter of which have been aware of Ferguson since his breakthrough at Bohemians when he was just 16 years old - while Manchester United have kept an eye on Ferguson and his compatriot Andy Moran’s progress throughout this season. Moran - another Irish youngster - has been restricted to under-23 football for most of the season but could be set for a breakthrough into the Brighton first-team in the near future.

Despite the huge amount of interest, 90min understands that Ferguson isn’t in a hurry to leave Brighton. The forward is very happy at the club and is in line for a new, much improved, contract at the Amex Stadium.

Standing at 6’2” (1.88m), Ferguson fits the “target man” mold that Bayern Munich seems to prefer for its strikers. The Irish lad is valued at €10 million on Transfermarkt, so if the Bavarians get serious, it would be a relatively low cost move.

Madrid considered Vlahovic an easy signing (Defensa Central)

Real Madrid has a different striker on its radar...one a little more well-known and established: Juventus star Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian is considered to be expensive, but attainable:

Real Madrid is looking for a striker for next season. They want another ‘9’ who can play alongside Benzema and give him rest, and the chosen one could be Vlahovic. The Serbian was already on the Madrid team’s agenda when he was at Fiorentina. He was one of the most impressive attackers, with a great hunger and eye for goal.

However, Juventus stepped up in the winter transfer window and managed to secure his services. They avoided a soap opera, giving a blow on the table with a big move. But things have not turned out as expected at Juventus. In addition to the problems off the pitch, with investigations and sanctions, there have been problems on the pitch.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 37 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich might be on a break, but BFW has plenty of hot topics — and maybe some hot takes — to chatter about.

Join us for this week’s Weekend Warm-up podcast, where we have a ton of good discussion points on the agenda, including:

• Why Bayern Munich should extend the contract of Benjamin Pavard,
• Germany’s squad selections and why this was a necessity for Hansi Flick.
• FC Barcelona might sell Robert Lewandowski...would you bring him back?
• The acquisition of Sadio Mané was heralded during the summer, but there were always some reasons to think it would not be a perfect fit. Has he been successful? Is it fair to assess him at this point? Would you make the move again?

Pep like Gvardiol (@FabrizioRomano)

Alert! Alert! Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is tampering!!! Lock him up — preferably before April 11th:

Havertz still not on Bayern radar (@Plettigoal via @iMiaSanMia)

According to Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg, Chelsea FC star Kai Havertz still will not move to Bayern Munich, despite having a backer in new coach Thomas Tuchel:

Despite the good relationship between Thomas Tuchel and Kai Havertz — and although the German international would like to leave Chelsea in the summer, Havertz is no topic for FC Bayern. He won’t be moving to Munich.

I still think that Havertz could eventually become appealing to Bayern Munich, but timing does not appear to be right for a move — unless Tuchel starts throwing his weight around.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Rant edition — Bayern Munich sack Julian Nagelsmann? And hired Thomas Tuchel!? (Bavarian Football Works)

So this came out of nowhere and we just HAD to react to it. Bayern Munich have decided to sack Julian Nagelsmann with immediate effect, and former Chelsea and BVB coach Thomas Tuchel is set to be named his successor. This is an insane set of developments, especially given the timing during an international break and with the game vs Borussia Dortmund coming right after.

In this special edition reaction (or rant) episode, INNN and Schnitzel talk about the following:

• The strange timing of the decision.
• Arguing back and forth about Nagelsmann’s record and the decision to sack him.
• Can Thomas Tuchel get Bayern on track before facing BVB and Manchester City?
• What criteria does Tuchel need to fulfill to be a success at Bayern?
• What happens to the board if Tuchel can’t hack it?
• And arguments. Lots and lots of arguments. Especially about the DFB Pokal for some reason.

Koné says playing time is primary driver for where he would move (@FabrizioRomano)

Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Manu Koné was recently informed that Paris Saint-Germain might be interested in him, but the youngster is being level-headed about things. If he moves on from Gladbach, it will have to be a club that will have ample playing time for him:

Dest back up for sale (90Min.com)

FC Barcelona seems ready to sell of Sergino Dest permanently:

Barcelona are looking to sell right-back Sergino Dest, who is attracting interest from clubs in the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1, as well as elsewhere in La Liga, 90min understands. Barça had enough faith in Dest’s potential that they were willing to pay an initial €21m plus up to €5m in add-ons for the Dutch-born United States international after only 38 senior games for Ajax.

But after just two seasons at Camp Nou, the Catalan hierarchy sent him on loan to AC Milan for the duration of the current campaign. That deal includes an option for the Rossoneri to make it permanent for €20m, but it isn’t set to be triggered after only two Serie A starts.

Even before a build up of recent injury and fitness problems that means he hasn’t played since January, the 22-year-old had largely been a back-up player coming off the bench. But given his age and continued long-term potential, there is no shortage of suitors all considering whether an approach and a fresh start could reignite his career.

At this stage, it is doubtful that Bayern Munich will seek to get back into the bidding for Dest, who once narrowed his transfer choices to Barca and Bayern before moving to Catalonia.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show — Season 5, Episode 39 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich has entered unsteady ground with a coaching change so late in the season. Marcus and Samrin take up the coaching appointment and discuss many aspects of it as well as what the season might look like moving forward.

• What Marcus thinks of Julian Nagelsmann’s fashion sense!
• Did Nagelsmann have the right attitude throughout his time at Bayern?
• Did the team actually progress under Nagelsmann?
• What is the right way to run a club like Bayern Munich?
• How the sacking of Nagelsmann impacts the positions of Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic
• Thoughts on the aftermath of the Bayer Leverkusen match
• Was the decision to fire Nagelsmann the correct one?
• What does success mean when it comes to comes to Thomas Tuchel?
• Is Tuchel the answer for Bayern? Does he have the nous to handle the personalities at Bayern, both in the dressing room and the on the pitch?
• How will Tuchel’s hiring impact player morale?
• Where we think Germany stands ahead of the Euros
• How might the team react to the coaching situation against Borussia Dortmund
• A word on the Frauen topping the table and on women’s football in general
• A discussion on the quality of the Bundesliga and whether that has led to a more competitive league season
• Marcus’s belief in Joachim Löw
• Marcus underestimates Niklas Füllkrug!
• A lot of references to INNN!