Daily Schmankerl: Will Bayern Munich scrap getting a goalkeeper in favor of spending more on Harry Kane?; Manchester City confident on Josko Gvardiol; Arsenal eyes Khvicha Kvaratskhelia; PSG to make push for Randal Kolo Muani; Agent Lewy?; & MORE!

Bayern won’t spend big on goalkeeper due to Kane cost (@FabrizioRomano)

The transfer saga of Harry Kane is still in progress as Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur have not come to an agreement on a feel.

As Tottenham tries to bleed as much money out of Bayern Munich as possible, the Bavarians are preparing to buck up and pay what it will take to get a deal done — even at the expense of adding another goalkeeper, which has been rumored to be on the club’s radar:

I’m all for pushing the chips in to get Kane and eschewing spending anything on another goalkeeper.

Now...I don’t know the extent of what is going on with Neuer, but if it is as bad as some fear, letting Yann Sommer and Alexander Nübel kind of seems ridiculous. Regardless, there is no need to spend anything more than €10 million on a goalkeeper — especially if Sommer’s future is not sealed yet.

City confident in Gvardiol move (Football Insider)

Manchester City is feeling pretty good about getting a deal done for RB Leipzig center-back Josko Gvardiol:

Man City are confident they will complete a deal for RB Leipzig star Josko Gvardiol well before the summer window shuts, sources have told Football Insider. Football Insider revealed on 21st July that City remain optimistic about signing the 21-year-old this summer despite conflicting reports on negotiations. It had been suggested a deal was close, but RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl recently went public to refute those claims.

One reason why City probably feels so good about this pursuit is the work behind the scenes going on by Mateo Kovacic (as captured by Sport Bild):

The footsteps that Mateo Kovacic (29) is supposed to fill in at Manchester City are downright ungrateful. The Croatian midfielder succeeds Ilkay Gündogan (32), who has moved to FC Barcelona. He will hardly be able to replace him, the German national player led the team of coach Pep Guardiola as captain to the Champions League triumph.

So far, Kovacic is the only top transfer from the English champions. But if he has his way, it shouldn’t stay that way. The Croatian international would like to have a compatriot at his side: Josko Gvardiol (21).

Kovacic is luring his national team colleagues to Manchester to the Daily Mail, saying: “Josko has great potential. He can come here and learn to become the best version of himself. Of course I would love that - he’s a good friend of mine and he’s Croatian. It would be very nice to have a Croatian by my side.”

Kovacic praises the defensive player: “He has already played a lot of big games. He’s ready for this step. I think it would be a good time (to move to City). He is still so young, and yet so mature. He doesn’t need much advice anymore. He played a great World Cup and had a great season with Leipzig.”

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

Ah...back from vacation and (somehow) completely worn down!

Hell with that, though, it is time to rap about Bayern Munich and all of the craziness that has been going on with the club. Let’s take a look at what is going on in this episode:

• Some thoughts on why Bayern Munich really might be in the final hours of life without a world class No. 9. A deal for Tottenham Hotspur star Harry appears to be in play.
• Why there is no way Bayern Munich should be looking to spend any significant cash on a back-up goalkeeper — even if there are some red flags being raised with Manuel Neuer’s recovery.
• Exploring the potential sale of Sadio Mané, the rumors about Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry being available...and how that could all mean that Bayern Munich is looking at another big purchase this summer (even if this dolt if content to ride it out with Sané and Gnabry.

PSG still pursuing Kolo Muani (@Plettigoal)

Paris Saint-Germain is still hunting Eintracht Frankfurt star Randal Kolo Muani:

Even with that interest, Die Adler might not be ready to let the Frenchman walk without a massive offer. Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Timmo Hardung sort of let that be known in an interview with Sport1.

“Randal is a very humble young man who has a lot of fun and enjoys life and soccer. He is always in a good mood and yet focused. He is a very pleasant contemporary who feels very comfortable with us in the team, in the club and in the city,” said Hardung. “The status quo hasn’t changed. As we have already emphasized several times, there is no concrete offer. Randal feels very comfortable with us. Therefore, there is nothing at the moment that makes us doubt that he will stay.”

Arsenal eyes Kvaratskhelia (Football Transfers)

Arsenal FC could be making a stealth move for Napoli attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia:

Arsenal have expressed interest in Napoli’s highly-talented attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the club believe the possibility of Victor Osimhen staying in Italy will work in their favour. We are told that Arsenal are boosted by a pre-existing relationship between the London club and Napoli’s new sporting director, Mauro Meluso.

A great relationship has been built after Meluso recommended Jakob Kiwior to the Gunners as a consultant, before he became Spezia’s sporting director. Arsenal heeded the recommendation and successfully signed Kiwior last season.

From this, there is the belief that Arsenal could make a play for Kvaratskhelia, the 22-year-old Georgian international who is considered one of the world’s best wingers playing today. We understand that Napoli has previously rejected advances from the Premier League outfit for Kvaratskhelia, but that was when it was thought that Osimhen would be making an exit this window.

This may encourage Napoli to view a potential transfer in a more favourable light, though publicly they have stressed both of their star names are not for sale.

It would take a huge bid from Arsenal to see the move realised, and they would have to move on some of the current squad to make any purchase of the youngster. The side have already made some ambitious signings, with Declan Rice’s £105million move from West Ham to the Gunners being one of the largest moves of the summer.

The mutual respect formed through previous dealings between Arsenal and Napoli’s sporting director could well see a move realised down the line, but Napoli are notoriously shrewd negotiators and it will take Arsenal a potentially club-record-breaking sum for a fee to be agreed.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 6, Episode 3 (Bavarian Football Works)

The preseason has not been so kind to Bayern Munich just yet.

Similarly, the World Cup served up a gut punch to Germany in the form of a stunning defeat at the hands of Colombia (The Revenge of James Rodriguez?).

With Harry Kane’s pursuit ongoing and Manuel Neuer still trying to get into form, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding Bayern Munich — and let’s not think about Germany being in an elimination match against South Korea (where have we seen this before?).

Needless to say, we have plenty to chat about, so let’s get to it. This is what we have on tap for this week’s episode of the BFW Flagship Show:

• Germany’s shocking defeat and why there might be organizational issues with development at the DFB.
• A quick update on Bayern Munich’s pursuit of Harry Kane.
• Dayot Upamecano could find himself on the bench for Thomas Tuchel.
• Why the preseason is a little concerning — even if the results do not mean a damned thing.

Napoli eyeing Mavropanos (@Plettigoal)

Napoli is reportedly scoping VfB Stuttgart center-back Konstantinos Mavropanos:

Agent Lewy getting deals done (@dw_sports)

FC Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski played a role in convincing İlkay Gündoğan to leave Manchester City: