Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich scoping Lille’s Jonathan David; More info on Manchester City’s pursuit of Alphonso Davies; Cristiano Ronaldo loses it; Lothar Matthäus slams potential Harry Kane move; Newcastle United eyeing FC Barcelona star; + MORE!

Bayern kicking the tires on David (@Plettigoal)

Boy...you Canada-based Bayern Munich fans are going to love this.

According to Sky Sport’s Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich has scouted Lille striker and Canadian international Jonathan David. Bayern Munich also reportedly has a “good opinion” of David.

However, there have not been any “concrete talks” with the player’s camp:

David is certainly an interesting name and there is a history of interest in David from Bayern Munich.

Is this the type of splash that will help solidify the attack? I don’t know, but it is clear that Bayern Munich is going to explore plenty of options.

More info on City’s pursuit of Davies (Sport Witness)

Would adding Jonathan David push Bayern Munich over an internal Canadian quota? People are asking!

While we are kidding about that, here is a little more information on Manchester City’s rumored pursuit of Alphonso Davies:

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has deployed Nathan Aké on the left side of defence after allowing João Cancelo to join Bayern Munich on loan in the winter market. The Dutchman has also been used as a left sided centre-back in a three-man defence, a formation used by Guardiola in the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Bayern retain an option to buy Cancelo.

If they were to exercise it, he’ll provide competition to Alphonso Davies for a place in their starting lineup next season. This may push the latter, who is on Manchester City’s transfer agenda, to leave Bayern in the summer. That’s according to Sky Deutschland, who explain the 22-year-old is ‘definitely on the list’ of the Premier League winners and Real Madrid.

The report further adds it’s ‘conceivable’ that both Manchester City and Los Blancos could push and perhaps even ‘make an offer’ to sign the Canada international in the summer.

At the moment, it’s unclear whether Bayern’s leaders are willing to talk about the possibility of sanctioning Davies’ sale after this season.

The Canadian has three goals and eight assists from 36 matches this season. Guardiola and Manchester City could take a closer look at him again when they face Bayern in the second leg of their Champions League tie on Wednesday.

Davies is said to want stability until the 2026 World Cup, but it has not been an easy season on or off the field for the left-back. Both Bayern Munich and Davies appear to want to get a deal done at this stage, but clubs like Manchester City and Real Madrid can offer financial and a footballing status that Bayern Munich might not be able to these days.

City just appears to be ready to go all-in and assemble Football Voltron at this point.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 40 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich has a suddenly massive match against Hoffenheim this week, a coach still feeling his way out, a league title on the line, and a whole hell of a lot of transfer rumors going on.

Yup, there is A LOT to talk about with Bayern Munich, so let’s dive right into it. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Breaking down the fight between Leroy Sané and Sadio Mané.
• A preview of Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim, a predicted lineup, and a score line that will hopefully give fans some juice heading into the weekend.
• Why this match will tell us a lot about Thomas Tuchel’s mindset as a manager, his player preferences, and where things might be going from here.
• A look at all of the strikers (and other attacking options) that Bayern Munich has been linked to.
• Chatting on next season’s logjam at goalkeeper.

Lothar slams potential Kane move (Daily Mail)

One person who thinks Bayern Munich should eschew a move for Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane is Lothar Matthäus, who would prefer the cheaper option — Niclas Füllkrug:

“I’m excited to see if a new striker comes along,’ Matthaus wrote in his Sky Sport Deutschland column. Everyone is talking about Victor Osimhen for his sensational performance at Napoli. You never know if he can do that in Munich, but I think he would be a good fit. Randal Kolo Muani may need a little more room and space than a Bayern striker usually has, but he’s also good in the box and could work in Munich.

“Harry Kane would be too old and too expensive for me. The price-performance ratio could speak for Niclas Füllkrug. He would probably be available for €20-25 million [£17.6m-£22m] and score 25 goals in Munich. He’s already scored 20 times at Werder.”

Kroos to extend with Madrid for another season (@Plettigoal)

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos looks ready to re-up with the club for another season:

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Bayern Munich 1-1 Hoffenheim (Bavarian Football Works)

When it rains, it pours...like cats and dogs for Bayern Munich. The Bavarians sputtered through a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga in a match that was extremely frustrating — mostly because it was more of the same issues we have been accustomed to seeing of late.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• Some thought on the starting XI and why players like Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies were left out of the lineup.
• Tuchel’s subs — why they partly worked and partly didn’t.
• Some lamentations on how this season slipped through Bayern Munich’s grasp, including thoughts on how big of a mistake the board made in forcing a coaching change when they did.
• Some doubts on whether or not everyone has moved on from “the slap.”

Ronaldo carded for bad behavior (@centregoals)

Al Hilal’s Cristiano Ronaldo earned a yellow card for going WWE on another player:

What if — hear me out — Bayern Munich signed Ronaldo last summer and the team had CR7 and Sadio Mané in the locker room. We were deprived of the ultimate “BFW Fight Club” moment?

Magpies planning massive summer haul? (Sport Witness)

Newcastle United might be on its way to quite a few major acquisitions this summer. The Magpies reportedly have West Ham’s Rice, Leicester City’s James Maddison, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Moises Caicedo, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips, the Napoli tandem of Victor Oshimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskheila on their radar:

Many of the big hitters seem to be in the market for midfielders this summer. Arsenal are hoping to sign Declan Rice and, despite interest from Newcastle, Talksport says the West Ham captain would prefer a move to the Emirates.

That is unlikely to deter Newcastle from spending big after a change in mindset at St James’ Park. Initially the plan was to tighten their belts this summer but at the end of a season that could bring the Champions League back to Tyneside, the Saudis have been persuaded that now is not the time to rein in their ambition.

The Telegraph says Newcastle will target ‘four elite players’ before naming 11 Premier League-based stars currently under consideration, including Rice, James Maddison, Moises Caicedo, Ivan Toney and Kalvin Phillips. Then we are told that Napoli duo Victor Oshimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskheila are among five other players currently plying their trade abroad who are catching the Magpies’ eye.

According to 90Min.com, Newcastle could also be looking at FC Barcelona attacker Ousmane Dembele as well:

Newcastle United hold an interest in Ousmane Dembele after intermediaries met with the player’s camp during his recent trip to England, sources have told 90min.

The Barcelona winger, who has just over a year remaining on his current contract, was a surprise attendee at Sunderland’s Championship with clash with Sheffield United in March, when he visited friend Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, the former’s chairman.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Flagship Show — Season 5, Episode 41 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich has gone from an optimistic treble candidate to a confused giant on the brink of Champions League elimination. This week, an out-of-form Bayern Munich will host an in-form Manchester City for what looks to be Die Roten’s last Champions League match during this season. Will a miracle be on the cards? With dull performances from Tuchel’s Bayern - followed by intense drama off the pitch - the BFW podcasting department share a rather pessimistic outlook on the crucial game at the Allianz Arena.

In this episode, Schnitzel and Marcus discuss the following points:

• Preview of the Manchester City game in the Champions League. Everything is going wrong at Bayern Munich...is this the perfect time for a comeback worthy of the history books?
• The monster that is Erling Haaland.
• Jamal Musiala and his 2023 form - is Bayern’s brightest star being utilized wrong?
• Sadio Mane vs Leroy Sane debacle. How does the future look like for the Senegalese superstar in Munich?
• The inconsistency of Bayern’s wingers. Schnitzel states that West Brom should re-sign Serge Gnabry.
• Has anything improved with Tuchel? Or was the Nagelsmann sacking a colossal miscalculation from the board?
• Should the board be held accountable for Bayern’s Pokal and, most likely, Champions League elimination?
• Bayern Munich’s chances of winning the Bundesliga.
• Thomas Tuchel’s ability as a coach and how long he will have a future at Bayern.
• A quick glance at the upcoming summer transfer window and what striker Bayern Munich should sign.