Daily Schmankerl: Future for Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mané to be decided shortly; Newcastle United wants Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch; Kylian Mbappe’s massive offer; Thomas Tuchel’s dream for Harry Kane; Randal Kolo Muani to Tottenham?; + MORE

Decisive moments ahead for Mané (Al-Riyadiah via @iMiaSanMia)

The future of Bayern Munich attacker Sadio Mané will be decided shortly:

There will be a ‘decisive’ meeting tomorrow in Japan between Al Nassr officials and Sadio Mané’s representatives in order to reach a final agreement on personal terms. Mané’s agent, Björn Bezemer, will then speak to Bayern to try to lower the fee to less than €30m.

In addition to Al Nassr, Sadio Mané has offers from Inter and Benfica, but the offer of the Saudi club is much higher. Mané initially asked for $100m/year before lowering his demands to $40m. Deal is getting close.

This is great news for all parties.

Mbappe to sit out the season or get massive salary from Al Hilal? (Sport1)

There is A LOT floating around with Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe. Sport1 had a story where it was loosely speculated that Mbappe could sit out for this upcoming season:

Only on Friday did the club drop an unexpected bombshell. As the top French club announced, the 24-year-old is missing from the squad for a preparatory trip. This was followed by surprisingly sharp words from Nasser Al-Khelaifi. “Anyone who does not travel to Japan is not part of the club’s plans,” the PSG president is quoted as saying by L’Équipe .

But the club’s latest confrontation rolled off Mbappé. In an Instagram story, after being removed from the PSG travel group, the superstar instead posted pictures that showed him training with club talent and wrote: “The best feeling ever.”

Mbappé’s contract expires in the summer of 2024, after which he could leave on a free transfer. For those responsible, however, this is not an option. It is suspected that Mbappé has already made his decision and is pushing a transfer to Real Madrid. The deal for the top scorer should undoubtedly be lucrative thanks to a bounty money that is believed to be in the three-digit million range.

However, Al Hilal is helping grease the pathway for Mbappe to leave PSG as it made what was ultimately rumored to be a €300 million offer to the Ligue1 power for Mbappe:

Fabrizio Romano gave a different perspective on the matter, but it is clear that things are moving and shaking around Mbappe:

The Athletic also had this info:

Paris Saint-Germain have received a €300million (£259m; $332m) offer for Kylian Mbappe from Al Hilal and have given the Saudi Pro League club permission to talk to the forward.

Mbappe’s future was plunged into fresh doubt on Friday after the 24-year-old was left out of PSG’s pre-season tour and put up for sale in the latest escalation of his contract saga.

In the end, Mbappe almost definitely will not take what will inevitably be an insane offer from Al Hilal. This could spur Real Madrid to bump its offer to PSG in hopes of landing Mbappe this summer, though.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 3, Episode 2 (Bavarian Football Works)

Another week, another crazy period for Bayern Munich news.

While there were no major breaks in the club’s pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane, there was still plenty of moving and shaking going on. We had a lot of weird news break...some true, some not, some probably falling somewhere in between.

Let’s taking a look at which topics we’ll dive into for this edition of the Weekend Warm-up Podcast:

• A brief look at where things stand with Kane after Uli Hoeneß went scorched Earth on Tottenham.
• Ahead of a potential move to Al Nassr, a look back at Sadio Mané’s tumultuous tenure at Bayern Munich.
• Assessing the rumors regarding Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, and Marcel Sabitzer.

What did anyone expect from Roca? (Football Fancast)

Amid the rumors that were linking Leeds United to Bayern Munich goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, there was a lamentation made regarding LUFC’s deal with former Bayern midfielder Marc Roca, which struck me as...odd:

This isn’t the first time Leeds have pursued a Bayern Munich player of late, with the Championship side signing central midfielder Marc Roca from the German champions for an initial £10m last summer.

The dynamic Spaniard was hailed as a “key” signing by pundit Alan Hutton upon his arrival from the Bundesliga, but failed to live up to the hype and has now been loaned out to Real Betis after a timid term in West Yorkshire.

While the 26-year-old did demonstrate his abilities by forging 2.1 tackles per game, as per Sofascore, his ball-playing prowess was not up to scratch and would not suit the fluid possession-based style of Farke, evidenced by his bottom 14% ranking for pass completion compared to midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, via FBref.

It is hard to fathom why anyone thought Roca was a big-time player after his stint at Bayern Munich. The Spaniard is a hell of a nice guy, a hard worker, a good teammate who never complained about his status on the squad, and someone who really did strive to assimilate into a new club and culture.

What he was not, was a starting-level player for any big club. His lack of quickness and iffy technical ability made it impossible to break into Bayern Munich’s lineup and seemed to also ruffle the feathers of Leeds United, who clearly expected a lot more out of him.

It’s actually a shame about Roca because he was probably as good a guy as Bayern Munich has acquired in recent years.

Tuchel’s declaration to Kane might have swayed him (Spurs Web)

Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel could have won Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane over by detailing his vision of winning the Champions League with the England international:

In the latest report on the situation courtesy of the Telegraph, it is claimed Spurs owner Joe Lewis has told Levy that Kane must be sold if he is unwilling to sign a new contract.

The report also suggests that Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has promised Kane something Spurs cannot offer, at least in the immediate future – the Champions League trophy.

Apparently, Kane is “desperate to win trophies” at this stage of his career, and Tuchel has told him that “together,” they can secure the Champions League for Bayern.

To many, this deal is a foregone conclusion and Bayern Munich fans can almost start placing orders for the new 2023/24 home kits now. Undoubtedly, Tuchel’s plan to win the UCL played a big role in convincing the star striker to uproot his family to Germany.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 6, Episode 2 (Bavarian Football Works)

In this episode, INNN and Schnitzel talk about the following:

• Is Bayern Munich offering Harry Kane too much for his services?
• What is going on between Thomas Tuchel and Thomas Muller?
• What can the starting XI versus Rottach-Egern tell us about Tuchel’s plans for the lineup moving forward?
• How is Thomas Tuchel going to use the midfield next season? What happens to Leon Goretzka?
• Is Marcel Sabitzer headed to Borussia Dortmund?
• What kind of lineup should we expect against Manchester City this week?

NUFC eyeing Gravenberch move (Football Fan Cast)

Newcastle United reportedly wants to take a serious run at Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch:

Newcastle United are one of the clubs “showing the greatest interest” in Bayern Munich’s exciting young midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, but a deal may prove difficult, claims journalist Rudy Galetti.

It was a fantastic season for the Magpies last year. Not only did they reach the Carabao Cup final, but they also qualified for the Champions League for the first time in over two decades and did so with ease come the end of the campaign.

With European football secured for next year and a level of wealth unmatched by even Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, fans and pundits expected the Toon to finally splash the cash in a significant way this summer. While they haven’t spent as flagrantly as they probably could, some brilliant players have already made their way to the Northeast this summer.

Spurs to pursue Kolo Muani (Get German Football News)

With Harry Kane looking like he is about to leave town, Tottenham Hotspur could be looking at Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani as Kane’s successor:

As reported by Sacha Tavolieri, Tottenham Hotspur are prioritising the transfer of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani as Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich edges closer.

Talks between Kolo Muani and Spurs have already started, with the Frenchman keen on the prospect of the move. Tottenham are seeking to act quickly as the club has been given the green light to sell Harry Kane to Bayern Munich during this window as the Englishman is unwilling to extend his contract.

The Premier League side can expect to get up to €100m for the England skipper, which should fund a move for Frankfurt’s Kolo Muani. The 24-year-old has already turned down a move to PSG earlier in the transfer window and was previously on the list at Bayern before they turned to Kane.

Frankfurt can expect anywhere between €80m-€100m for the French international. Previously, sporting director Markus Krösche has demanded upwards of €100m for the forward, with his contract not expiring until 2027. Spurs’ pursuit of Kolo Muani could quicken Kane’s transfer to Bayern as they seek to fund a move for Frankfurt’s star asset.