Daily Schmankerl: Did Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies tell Real Madrid he’s ready to move in 2024?; Are the Saudis attempting to swipe Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane?; West Ham seeking Leon Goretzka and Harry Maguire; Other transfer updates; + MORE!

Did Davies give Madrid thumbs up on move for next season? (Defensa Central via 90Min.com)

Earlier in the summer, we heard that Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies was laying the groundwork to leave the club. However, most assumed that the rumors meant that the Canadian star wanted an exit this summer.

That, of course, seemed a little ludicrous.

Now, though, more reports are emerging that are indicating that Davies has let Real Madrid know that he is willing to make the jump to Spain next summer:

Alphonso Davies has signalled to Real Madrid that he is willing to join them from Bayern, but a deal is more likely to be completed next summer rather than in this current window.

Davies’ contract expires in 2025 and Bayern Munich has had a tough time convincing the left-back and his agent to actually sit down and talk about a new deal.

Could this be the swan song for Davies with Bayern Munich?

Hammers looking for Goretzka, Maguire swoop (ESPN)

West Ham could be looking to take a big swing by bringing in Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka and Manchester United’s Harry Maguire:

West Ham have also emerged as surprise candidates for the signature of Goretzka as the Hammers look to replace their former captain Declan Rice, who secured a £100 million move to Arsenal last month.

West Ham are interested in landing a deal for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire; however, the England international is eager to stay at Old Trafford, reports Football Insider. The 30-year-old Maguire wants to fight for his place at United, making any potential deal difficult for the Hammers. The report suggests that West Ham have had a first approach of £20m rejected by the Red Devils and are considering whether it is worth making a second offer, given Maguire’s reluctance to depart.

It still seems silly to think that Bayern Munich is ready to give up one of its core players, but there does appear to be something about Goretzka that Thomas Tuchel just does not like. Neither Joshua Kimmich nor Konrad Laimer were all that impressive during the team’s tour in Asia, which might give the club a little reason to hold on to Goretzka a little longer.

City-Gvardiol is about to happen (@FabrizioRomano)

It looks like everything has come together for Manchester City to ink RB Leipzig center-back Josko Gvardiol:

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 3, Episode 4 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich closed down its preseason tour in great fashion with a comeback win over Liverpool FC, but the end result was not nearly important as what we learned about this team over the past two weeks.

Why waste any time? Let’s get chatting on a number of topics. Here is what we have on tap:

• An in depth look at what we learned from Bayern Munich’s preseason tour, including why the attack could be positioned to explode, how the midfield might be developing into a mess, and why the defense might take some time to gel.
• Why the news about Manuel Neuer’s secret surgery is very concerning.
• Who helped themselves — Josip Stanišić and Serge Gnabry
• Who might be in trouble on Bayern Munich’s roster — Leon Goretzka, Dayot Upamecano, Noussair Mazraoui...and Paul Wanner.
• Recapping the latest transfer news.

Saudis looking to steal Kane? (Football 365)

Could the the Saudis look to steal Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane away from Bayern Munich with a monstrous offer? Maybe:

According to reports, Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal are ‘considering’ a ‘world record bid’ for Bayern Munich and Man Utd target Harry Kane. The England international was superb for Spurs last season as he scored 30 Premier League goals for the North London outfit.

He is out of contract in 2024 and he has been heavily linked with a move away from Tottenham throughout this summer’s transfer window. It was initially expected that Man Utd would prioritise Kane this summer but they have instead switched their focus to 19-year-old Atalanta forward Rasmus Hojlund, who is set to complete his move to Old Trafford in the coming days.

Man Utd and Chelsea are reportedly ‘in the background’ ready to sign Kane on a free in 2024 but Bayern Munich have stepped up their interest in the forward.

Earlier this summer, Al Hilal attempted to sign PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe and they have also been linked with Napoli forward Victor Osimhen. The report adds. ‘TEAMtalk understands that Kane has shown little desire to move to the Saudi Pro League. However, intermediaries believe a bid of £200m – which would be worth more than the fee PSG paid for Neymar in 2017 – could temp Levy into a deal.

Given that Kane’s willingness to leave Spurs is centred around his desire to win team trophies such as league titles and the Champions League, it is difficult to imagine him accepting a move to Saudi Arabia at this stage. Instead, it is looking increasingly likely that he will spend another year at Spurs as he ‘expects to stay’ if his exit is not finalised before their first Premier League game of the 2023/24 season against Brentford on August 13.

It just means a lot (@beINSports_EN)

While some (most?) of us were lamenting how Germany flamed out of another World Cup, Morocco — and a few other countries — relished in what they achieved:

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.

Højlund completes United medical, announcement will depend on processing of paperwork (@FabrizioRomano)

Atalanta striker Rasmus Højlund’s move to Manchester United is just about done:

Dembélé to PSG nearing finality, too (@FabrizioRomano)

What kind of battery life does Fabrizio Romano have on his phone?

FC Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembélé is also just about ready to make his transfer official. The Frenchman is headed to Paris Saint-Germain:

Lazio closing in on Kamada (@FabrizioRomano)

Lazio could be ready to get a deal done for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada: