Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich loanee Alexander Nübel draws interest from Newcastle United; Arsenal eyeing Joshua Kimmich; Joshua Zirkzee set on AC Milan move?; FC Barcelona out on Martin Zubimendi?; Kalvin Phillips scuffles at West Ham; and MORE!

Bayern Munich loanee Alexander Nübel is having a solid season with VfB Stuttgart and now has some clubs taking a close look at him — including Newcastle United:

Newcastle United have initiated contact with Bayern Munich goalkeeper Alexander Nübel ahead of a potential surprise move for him.

That’s according to SportBILD, who say Newcastle and AS Roma have tried their luck with the current VfB Stuttgart loanee. The newspaper today covers how the German giants are planning for a life without Manuel Neuer, who could retire next summer when his contract comes to an end. They explain that the obvious replacement for him is Nübel and the club would like to extend his deal long-term, with the plan to sign that then leave him out on loan somewhere, perhaps Stuttgart again, to gain experience and mature.

Whether he is open to that, though, is up for debate, having had a taste of first-team football with surprise package Stuttgart this season. He feels home at the club and has earned himself admirers outside of Germany too, with Newcastle and Roma having ‘recently contacted him’ about a potential move. Both sides seem to simply be trying their luck at this point and not pushing anything serious, but the interest is there, and contact has been made nonetheless.

Just a few months ago, Bayern Munich was closely linked to Kalvin Phillips. The midfielder eventually took a loan assignment from Manchester City to West Ham and Bayern (luckily) went about its merry way.

Consider that, a bullet dodged:

According to a report from The Sun, Hammers on-loan midfielder Kalvin Phillips could be a transfer target for Bayern Munich in the summer. It is suggested that West Ham are eyeing up a permanent deal for the England international as well. I truly believe that signing him could be a catastrophic mistake from Moyes.

He is on the downward curve of his career and has regressed badly over the past 18 months or so. The 28-year-old would demand huge wages and has a really poor record with injuries. Now, Phillips has endured a disastrous start to life at the London Stadium since joining West Ham on loan from Manchester City in the summer.

The 28-year-old has made mistake after mistake, most notably during our games against Bournemouth and Newcastle. He looks to be well off the pace, and the big worry is that Moyes will still try to bring him to the club on a permanent deal in the summer.

After all, it was claimed recently that the Scot still believes that the midfielder will come good for the Hammers. Pep Guardiola signed Phillips for Man City in the summer of 2022 for around £42 million (Manchester Evening News), and the Premier League champions are said to be demanding close to that fee to let him go.

After getting upset by Borussia Dortmund last week, Bayern Munich is a club grasping at straws for this season and the future.

There is still great talent on the roster, but how it functions for the rest of this season and if it will even be around next season remain to be seen. With so many storylines going on, there was plenty to talk about, so let’s get to it.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode of the Weekend Warm-up Show:

• Is it impossible for Bayern Munich to take down Arsenal FC in the Champions League at this point?
• Are Bayern Munich players missing the necessary hunger and edge required to win at the highest levels?
• The field is narrowing for Bayern Munich’s coaching search and there still is no clear leader in the clubhouse. As the days go by, could Hansi Flick end up being the choice, who makes the most sense?
• Why Flick could really be the right guy to take the helm.
• Breaking down the second to last episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

This is pretty crazy:

If Arsenal FC wants to get an up-close-and-personal look at Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich, it will not have to go far on Tuesday.

The Bavarians will visit the Gunners for a Champions League tilt, which is convenient given Arsenal’s interest in the 29-year-old:

Premier League club Arsenal have ‘approached’ Bayern Munich over a deal to sign Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich, according to reports.

Kimmich has not been at his best under Thomas Tuchel – who will leave Bayern at the end of 2023/24 – this season but is still regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in world football. Injuries have forced him back into right-back in recent months, with Tuchel’s side falling further and further away from champions-elect Bayer Leverkusen.

Manchester City and Liverpool are the two clubs being strongly linked with the German, while Arsenal and Manchester United are also believed to be keen. It is the Gunners we will focus on here, with a report from Football Transfers stating that they have made a surprise ‘approach’ to sign Kimmich.

The approach in question was made to Bayern directly as Kimmich does not have an agent and the German giants did not rule out the sale, telling Mikel Arteta’s side to come back in the summer as they ‘will refuse to have any type of dialogue’ during the campaign. Despite being a completely different signing to anyone Arteta has brought to the club in recent years, it is claimed that the 29-year-old is a ‘concrete summer target’ and this one is expected to ‘heat up’ when 23/24 draws to a close.

In fairness, Kimmich ticks two important boxes for the Spanish manager, who wants extra depth in midfield and full-back. His versatility is something that Arteta ‘loves’ and he is hoping to take advantage of the fact that contract talks between Bayern and Kimmich have hit a standstill.

If you are doubting that Kimmich would consider a move to London, well, Germany international Kai Havertz might already be working to convince the Bayern Munich star to make the jump:

It is claimed that Gunners star Kai Havertz had a ‘private’ chat with the versatile midfielder – who is valued at €60million (£51million) by Transfermarkt – during the recent international break, with the club ‘using this conversation to gauge the Bayern star’s interest’.

How does Bayern Munich rebound from a devastating 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund?

While Heidenheim is not a juggernaut, it is unclear just how healthy and focused the Bavarians are — especially with a Champions League match against Arsenal FC on Tuesday.

Some would consider this the classic “trap game”, so Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel might have to dig deep into his bag of tricks to get his squad motivated and mentally on-point for this game.

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

• A look at where each team is in the table.
• Some thoughts on the recent form of each team and a look back at the first meeting between the two teams this season.
• Updates on injured Bayern Munich players.
• Corralling the disappointment of a season lost.
• A guess at Thomas Tuchel’s potential starting XI and why he should keep things the same.
• A prediction on the match.

If Bayern Munich truly wanted to take a run at Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi this summer, it might have one less competitor as FC Barcelona is rumored to be dropping out of the race to sign the 25-yea-rold Spaniard:

Last year, Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad was at the top of the wishlist for FC Barcelona as they sought a replacement for Sergio Busquets. However, the Catalans’ financial situation, coupled with his contract extension at La Real, albeit without increasing his €60 million release clause, meant that a move did not materialise.

Despite that, Zubimendi has been constantly linked with a move to Barcelona as their pursuit of a new defensive pivot continues ahead of the summer window. However, as per Fabrizio Romano, things have gone quiet as far as Barcelona and their pursuit of Martin Zubimendi is concerned. Instead, the Spanish international is being pursued by two other European heavyweights in Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Arsenal have had Zubimendi on their radars for a long time and have him on their shopping list for the upcoming summer.

Former Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee looks like he is positioning himself for a move form Bologna to AC Milan:

Bayern Munich suffered a deflating and embarrassing defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund over the weekend, which left fans angry, puzzled, and…maybe even sad.

So, yeah, it was not great.

But maybe — just maybe — not all hope is lost heading into the stretch run of the season. Let’s take a look at some of the burning topics on this week’s edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show:

• Why the loss to Borussia Dortmund was so tough to watch and how it could be the impetus for true change.
• Mentally, Bayern Munich might just be shot. Is there any hope against Arsenal FC in the Champions League?
• How are we feeling about another long-term commitment to Leroy Sané?
• Will any coach worth his salt take the Bayern Munich job, knowing how badly they already want Xabi Alonso — who will be available in 2025? Also, what Alonso’s decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen might be telling us about a potential future with Real Madrid.