Daily Schmankerl: Manchester City eyeing Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz; Real Madrid also eyeing Wirtz; Bayern to hold talks with Manuel Neuer, Sven Ulreich; Futures of João Palhinha, Kalvin Phillips linked?; & MORE!

Bayern to hold talks with Neuer, Ulreich (kicker via @iMiaSanMia)

Bayern Munich is expected to engage in negotiations with goalkeepers Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich in the coming weeks.

Both Neuer and Ulreich have contracts that run through the end of this season, but the club has some key decisions to make:

Bayern are planning to hold initial contract talks with Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich this autumn. Both goalkeepers are under contract until summer 2024. Ulreich is open to staying at the club one more season as a backup.

Sport Bild journalists Christian Falk and also had this information on the situation (as captured by @iMiaSanMia):

Bayern will open contract talks with Sven Ulreich in the next few months. Ulreich never complains about not playing or about being #2 or even #3. Bayern are aware of his loyalty and his close relationship with Manuel Neuer. Ulreich is open to staying and even retiring in Munich.

Aside of Neuer and Ulreich, newcomer Daniel Peretz has looked good since arriving at the club over the summer, Alexander Nübel is having a terrific loan stint (so far) while at VfB Stuttgart, and Johannes Schenk showed he has some talent while on loan at SC Preußen Münster.

The position — for once — is thoroughly stacked at Bayern Munich, so what happens this summer could become very interesting, especially as things evolve over the course of this season. Neuer’s injury status, Nübel’s desire to leave, and Peretz’s readiness to take a bigger role will all be key situations worth monitoring.

City to make a run at Musiala? (Manchester City News)

Everyone knew this would eventually happen, but now the rumors are beginning to emerge — the English are coming...for Bayern munich star Jamal Musiala.

Well, they might be coming for the Germany international, anyway.

According to some (probably not-so-reliable) reports, Manchester City is prepared to mount a campaign to bring Musiala back to England:

It has been reported that Manchester City will try to sign Jamal Musiala as a long-term replacement for Kevin De Bruyne. This comes from The Secret Scout, as the Belgian playmaker’s time at City could soon come to an end, with him being 32 years of age and currently out with a serious hamstring injury.

However, it seems like the vision at Manchester City is to bring in Jamal Musiala to succeed Kevin De Bruyne.

Bayern Munich fans know this will eventually be a topic, but — for now — a move seems way off in the distance. Musiala’s contract with Bayern Munich runs through 2026, so there is very little pressure on the Bavarians to do anything at this point.

However, if rumors do start to persist — and maybe even become legitimate — Bayern Munich will likely begin to think about extending Musiala past that date. Surely, the next two seasons are “safe”, but starting in the summer of 2025, things could start to get tense for the Bavarians if a contract extension is not signed with its young star.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Podcast: Season 3, Episode 12 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich has had great success so far this season, but not everything has been peachy keen for the boys from Bavaria.

Moreover, some fans have drawn lines on Thomas Tuchel and have evolved into warring factions on just about any matter involving the manager. We will talk about why that is and a whole lot more for this episode of the Weekend Warm-up Podcast. Check out what we have on tap:

• A look at the injury to Serge Gnabry, what it means for the club, and how the transfer rumors linking the Germany international to Manchester United and Real Madrid could be impacted.
• Assessing the small roster.
• Manchester City is linked to both Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz.
• Diving into the discord surrounding Bayern Munich fans and Thomas Tuchel.
• A couple of embarrassing stories on how inept I am and how Terry Francona dissed me into oblivion.

City could also make move for Wirtz (The Hard Tackle)

It is not just Jamal Musiala, who could conceivably be on the move to Manchester City, however.

Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz, who has been linked to both Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona, is on the radar of both Manchester City and Real Madrid:

Manchester City are eyeing a sensational move for Florian Wirtz, but the player seems content with life at Bayer Leverkusen at the moment. According to Sport Bild via Sport Witness, manchester City could approach to sign Florian Wirtz next season as they steadily continue to make young additions. The 20-year-old Bundesliga prodigy, however, seems content with life at Bayer Leverkusen, who are in no rush to sell.

Florian Wirtz’s name soon followed that of Kai Havertz when it came to interest from Premier League clubs. The 20-year-old Bundesliga prodigy was primed to make a serious impact and become one of the best German players, but injuries have hampered his progress. A few seasons of injury-related problems have halted his development, but Bayer Leverkusen have the utmost confidence in their star. Wirtz has started the season in sublime form, with six-goal contributions in their seven games so far in all competitions.

He signed a new long-term deal in 2022, which keeps him at the club until 2027. Hence, Bayer Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes addressed some recent reports linking the 20-year-old Bundesliga prodigy to other big clubs, with Manchester City one of those interested.

He said, “Success always increases the chance that players will feel comfortable and want to stay longer.” “What Florian and his family do excellently: They are completely relaxed about the topic and focused on development.

“He has a wonderful environment here with family, friends and club. As a player and as a personality, he can grow at Bayer 04.”

Real Madrid are among teams planning a 2024 move for the 20-year-old Bundesliga prodigy. The links to the Spanish giants show the quality of the player, as the La Liga side always carefully tends to choose its targets. Similarly, Manchester City are also keen on Wirtz and will push to sign him next summer. With Leverkusen insistent on keeping him, they might ask for a massive transfer fee, something Pep Guardiola’s side can afford in the current market.

Sancho, Ten Hag won’t be meeting for coffee...ever (i News via 90Min.com)

Where will Jadon Sancho land? Things certainly will not be worked out at Manchester United for the English attacker:

The relationship between Jadon Sancho and Erik ten Hag at Manchester United is now beyond repair.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Bayern Munich 4-0 SC Preußen Münster and Preview Show — Bayern vs. RB Leipzig (Bavarian Football Works)

Given the condensed schedule for Bayern Munich and also for Bavarian Podcast Works, we’ve got a double-shot for you!

First, we are recapping Bayern Munich’s impressive 4-0 victory over SC Preußen Münster and then we will get you all set for the big Bundesliga showdown between the Bavarians and RB Leipzig on Saturday — a massive match in terms of the league’s title race.

Let’s take a look at what is on tap for this episode:

• A look at Thomas Tuchel’s lineup that he rolled out against Preußen Münster.
• A rundown of the scoring.
• Some takeaways from the match.
• A look at where Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig sit in the Bundesliga table.
• An attempt to guess Tuchel’s lineup (good luck!).
• A prediction on the game.

Fulham wanted Phillips in move that could have made Palhinha available (Football Transfers)

With João Palhinha on the campus of Bayern Munich taking pictures for his prospective signing, Fulham FC was working vigorously to find a replacement.

In fact, Fulham thought it had reached a deal for another player, which would have allowed Palhinha to make the move to Germany. Of course, the move fell through, but that player — Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips — could find his way back on Fulham’s radar:

Fulham wanted to do a deal for Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips on Deadline Day, FootballTransfers has learnt. We are told that contact was made between clubs over the conditions of a deal and Citizens boss Pep Guardiola even gave the green light for a move for the England international to happen.

The west London club were bracing for the departure of Joao Palhinha, who was expected to move to Bayern Munich over the summer window.

But the move faltered in the final hours and the Portuguese No.6 remained at Craven Cottage. Furthermore, at the time Phillips was adamant that he wanted to stay and fight for his place at the Etihad. Sources tell us that Man City are still open to suitable offers in January for Phillips, but a move is dependent on whether the player is happy to leave - his contract does not expire until June 2028.

Guardiola is hoping that Phillips can depart so the Spaniard can bring in another backup.

Eberl wants Simons on permanent deal (Sky Germany via 90Min.com)

Xavi Simons is making the most of his loan from Paris Saint-Germain to RB Leipzig — and now Die Roten Bullen would love to make the arrangement permanent:

RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl has admitted that the club would like to sign Xavi Simons from Paris Saint-Germain on a permanent basis.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 6, Episode 11 (Bavarian Football Works)

So another week of football has gone by, and Bayern Munich have won two games in a row. In the meantime, Germany have hired Julian Nagelsmann (thanks to some financial help from the Bavarians) and we have reports that Matthijs de Ligt is unhappy with his situation (shock, horror!). Overall, a mixed week of events but the main subject of discussion are the two coaches — Tuchel and Nagelsmann.

In this episode, INNN and Marcus discuss the following:

• What do we think of Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich so far?
• How the games against Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen speak against the current coach.
• Is Tuchel causing problems in the dressing room?
• Marcus makes an unconvincing defense of Tuchel so far.
• The philosophical difference between hiring and firing coaches.
• How important is the RB Leipzig game next week?
• How can Tuchel improve the team going forward?
• Is Julian Nagelsmann capable of fixing Germany?
• What happens if he can’t do it?
• What is the leadership issue at Germany? Is Gündoğan the right choice of captain?
• What should Germany do if Nagelsmann can’t fix things?
• A quick look at the Preußen Münster game in the DFB Pokal coming up.