Daily Schmankerl: FC Barcelona won’t make it easy for Bayern Munich to get Ronald Araújo; Arsenal, Liverpool want Eintracht Frankfurt star; Napoli’s Victor Osimhen eyeing Chelsea future?; La Liga prez thinks Real Madrid will get Kylian Mbappé; and MORE!
It’s a bogey weekend! Is Bayern Munich ready?
For months, Bayern Munich was rumored to have interest in FC Barcelona center-back Ronald Araújo.
The 24-year-old Uruguayan is said to be Bayern Munich’s head coach Thomas Tuchel’s first choice selection as a center-back for the summer transfer window, but that does not mean that the Catalans are going to just let him walk out the door.
Barca sporting director Deco took some time to make that very clear.
“He is one of Barça’s key players of the present and the future. We are not considering selling him, we want him to be happy and this is shown on a day-to-day basis. There’s nothing to talk about. The important thing is that he is here with hunger and with heart,” Deco remarked.
This will not stop Bayern Munich from — once again — trying to the defender. It still looks like an extreme longshot that it will happen, but transfer windows can be….odd. If — and it is a massive if — Bayern Munich does convince Araújo to move to Germany, one of Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs de Ligt, or Kim Min-jae would have to leave.
According to Raphael Honigstein of The Athletic (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich was all set to make a move happen this winter, Xavi made sure that it did not happen with a threat to Barca’s board:
When the window started in January, Ronald Araújo was the main target for Bayern. The player was willing to move to Munich and Bayern’s supervisory board had already green-lit an €80million outlay, but Xavi put his foot down, telling the board he’d resign if the Uruguayan was sold.
Xavi did announce his departure, albeit at the end of the season and for unconnected reasons, a few days ago but Bayern had already moved on to a rather cheaper and more short-term alternative in Eric Dier.
Given how Tuchel has used De Ligt (and that the club is committed to Tuchel), the Dutchman might not want to get too comfortable in Munich.
It might be time to starting keeping a close eye on Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson.
The 19-year-old Swede is drawing interest from Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC. Larsson could end up being the next big sale for Die Adler when the timing is right:
Bild reports that Arsenal and Liverpool are both interested in one of the surprise packages from this season, Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson.
Larsson only joined Frankfurt in the summer from Malmo for €9m and he was bought for the future and was meant to be slowly integrated into the team but the 19-year-old has already made himself a key part of Frankfurt’s midfield with strong performances against Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
However, Larsson has a contract at Frankfurt until 2028 without a release clause, and as Frankfurt will likely not want to give the Swede up after a year, they could demand a lot of money. Frankfurt believes that with Larsson’s potential, they can eventually sell him for €80m.
Bayern Munich is coming off of a somewhat of a crazy transfer window in the midst of a slew of injuries and while preparing to face-off with the always pesky Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Needless to say, we have a TON to talk about. Let’s take a look at what is top for this week’s episode:
- What the Philadelphia Eagles taught us about “a win is a win” and why Bayern Munich needs to get it together.
- Why is Thomas Tuchel so averse to Jamal Musiala playing wing — even at a time where the club desperately needs him to?
- Examining the validity of my own crackpot theory about Musiala possibly refusing to play wing. Is there a primadonna blossoming under the radar?
- Taking a look at the other options: Thomas Muller, Mathys Tel, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Bryan Zaragoza, and Alphonso Davies.
- Was bringing in Zaragoza now, a panic move?
- The acquisition of Sacha Boey and what it could mean for the future of Noussair Mazraoui.
- A deep dive in how divisive Tuchel has made things in the Bayern Munich fanbase.
- Thought on the last episode of True Detective.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has been in and out transfer rumors for the last two years and the high scorer could be looking at a future with Chelsea FC:
Chelsea are currently leading the race to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who has scared his current club by admitting he has already decided his next move.
La Liga president Javier Tebas is still holding out hope that Kylian Mbappé will join Real Madrid:
Bogey alert!
Bayern Munich will host Borussia Mönchengladbach for what could be a very important Bundesliga matchup.
The Bavarians have had a lot of trouble with Die Fohlen in recent years and this could be a situation where the banged up and weary boys from Bayern Munich need to really dig deep even against a Borussia Mönchengladbach side that is not exactly a juggernaut.
Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this Preview Show:
- A look at where each team is in the table.
- Some thoughts on Bayern Munich’s injury and absence situation and what Thomas Tuchel might do to work around missing key players like Kim Min-jae, Noussair Mazraoui, Dayot Upamecano, Konrad Laimer, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Joshua Kimmich.
- An attempt to figure out Tuchel’s lineup for the game — and why common sense probably will not prevail.
- A prediction on the match.
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane showed off his golf skills:
Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund had nothing but good words to say about Jamal Musiala.
“He’s an absolute exceptional player who makes the difference. He can always do special things. We’re happy to have him at Bayern and I’m convinced he will play a decisive role in the coming months,” Freund told Bild. “It would be great to keep him at Bayern for a very long time because he’s a special player — it doesn’t get much better. We want him to be one of the faces of the club and to stay for a very long time”
Bayern Munich’s season currently seems as stable as uranium, with an ongoing injury crisis, consistently mediocre performances on the pitch (bordering on poor), and the possibility of a locker room implosion (it is always just a matter of time). In the meantime, the club has shrewdly acquired the services of Sacha Boey, a quality right-back who is expected to bring a lot of quality and add depth to the position.
With the impending return of Noussair Mazraoui on the horizon, Tuchel will have to make some very important decisions (welp). The team could really use some direction and a definitive plan. As Bayern nears the business end of the season, the pressure to deliver increases. The next 4 months could be the difference between a double and nothing. And we all know: a trophyless season at Bayern is blasphemous.
Schnitzel and Rayyan therefore had their hands full with topics to discuss, including:
- The Sacha Boey transfer
- An evaluation of Christoph Freund’s work so far
- Bayern Munich’s lengthy injury list
- How Bayern Munich’s season has looked statistically vs. how it looks to the eye
- Thomas Tuchel’s tactics being a mismatch at Bayern
- Jürgen Klopp being the pipe dream to succeed Tuchel
- Some easter eggs and veiled roasts (as usual)
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