Daily Schmankerl: Manchester United wants Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, FC Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong?; Juventus wants Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos; Manchester City to steal Kylian Mbappé?; Liverpool assessing move for Joshua Kimmich; and MORE!

Rumors that Harry Kane might be unhappy at Bayern Munich have thrown England into a tizzy.

While the reports of Kane’s anger are undoubtedly overblown, it has not stopped the media from jumping all over them. Manchester United, a longtime admirer of Kane, is already seeking to bring in FC Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong and now could be jumping into the rumored fray for Kane.

Let’s also not forget that the Red Devils are also rumored to have interest in Bayern Munich youngster Mathys Tel:

Manchester United remain very keen on both Harry Kane and Frenkie de Jong ahead of what’s believed to be a summer transfer window full of expenditure, FootballTransfers has been told. The recent improvement in the team’s form has emboldened some members of the club who believe that securing a Champions League spot could be a persuasive factor for their top targets to join under the Ineos ownership, who are prepared to invest heavily in the upcoming window.

While we can confirm Man Utd have a long-standing interest in Mathys Tel, there is apprehension that a prospective change in the coaching staff at Bayern Munich, currently under the charge of Thomas Tuchel, could hamper any potential move.

Kane is well-liked by those at Man Utd, as FootballTransfers previously reported, and if there is a willingness from the player to make a Premier League return, then the club will pursue him. Kane was very open to a Man Utd move last summer, but ultimately the club could not afford Tottenham’s asking price. It’s believed that Bayern could cash in on several players in the summer to fund big-money deals, though whether Kane will be among them will depend on the England striker.

Frenkie de Jong remains a target, but the club will not waste time pursuing the Dutchman unless his side gives positive indications. Sporting CP’s Marcus Edwards and Michael Olise of Crystal Palace have been identified as targets early on, and there remains strong interest in Jarrad Braithwaite, as FootballTransfers was first to reveal.

We know that Real Madrid star Toni Kroos does not want to spend the last juncture of his career with Bayern Munich, but what about Juventus?

We could find out an answer to that in the coming months as the Italian side appears to have interest in the 34-year-old:

Juventus are planning a surprise move for veteran Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

For what it is worth, Juventus has also been linked to Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka as well.

Bayern Munich will look to get back on track against RB Leipzig this weekend at the Allianz Arena — and it will not be easy.

RB Leipzig is not exactly in the best form overall, but is coming off a win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, while the Bavarians are reeling and in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

To further complicate matters, there are major issues between some of the Bayern Munich players and head coach Thomas Tuchel. Plus, Tuchel and the club announced that they will part ways after the season.

Will he make it that far? The result against Die Roten Bullen could go a long way in determining that. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at where each team is in the table.
• Some talk about what is going on with the recent form of each side.
• A guess at Tuchel’s lineup.
• A prediction on the match.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says that Bayern Munich’s failure to get a deal done with Fulham FC for João Palhinha last summer, wreaked havoc on head coach Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the season:

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano also explained what he felt was going wrong for Bayern in this extremely challenging season, with the Bavarian giants now on a run of three defeats in a row and falling further behind surprise package Bayer Leverkusen in the title race in Germany.

It’s not all Tuchel’s fault, according to Romano, with the journalist stating that Bayern’s failure to sign Joao Palhinha from Fulham was also a major issue for the club as they needed to strengthen in midfield.

Palhinha has been immense for Fulham this season and seems like he could have been ideal for Bayern, and indeed for a number of other top clubs, so it makes sense that the Portugal international not joining has impacted Bayern’s plans.

At least now we know Tuchel has a direct line to Romano.

Raheem Sterling’s tenure at Chelsea FC has not resulted in any glory and he might be running out of time to make that happen as he could be sold off this summer:

HITC Football understands Chelsea are planning to move on from a number of big names this summer and Raheem Sterling is one of those who does not have a long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

Bayern Munich will look to get back on track against RB Leipzig this weekend at the Allianz Arena — and it will not be easy.

RB Leipzig is not exactly in the best form overall, but is coming off a win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, while the Bavarians are reeling and in the midst of a three-game losing streak.

To further complicate matters, there are major issues between some of the Bayern Munich players and head coach Thomas Tuchel. Plus, Tuchel and the club announced that they will part ways after the season.

Will he make it that far? The result against Die Roten Bullen could go a long way in determining that. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at where each team is in the table.
• Some talk about what is going on with the recent form of each side.
• A guess at Tuchel’s lineup.
• A prediction on the match.

Reports are circulating that the Bayern Munich gig just might not be something that would interest Hansi Flick at this point:

After defeats to Bayer Leverkusen, Lazio and most recently Bochum, Tuchel is thought to be a bad result away from the sack, with Bayern eight points off the top of the table currently, although they intend to maintain him until the end of this season.

However that has not stopped Bayern reaching out to potential options to finish the season should they feel it necessary to bid farewell to Tuchel. Flick has been one of the names mentioned, amongst the likes of Zinedine Zidane, but according to Sky Deutschland, via MD, Flick has dismissed the idea. He will not be returning to Bayern before the end of the season.

Flick has been making all of the right noises for the Barcelona job, with various reports emerging stating that he wants the job, as well as others saying that he is learning Spanish. The 58-year-old also changed agent to Pini Zahavi recently, who has close linked to Barcelona President Joan Laporta. He has enjoyed the admiration of Laporta since his Bayern demolished Barcelona 8-2 in 2020, but was much less impressive in charge of Germany, before they dismissed him.

While Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel is working his final weeks at the club, the list of realistic candidates to take over for the 2024/25 campaign is pretty…scant. If you remove Flick from the candidates, it really could be slim pickings.

Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé is moving on from his club and most assume he will land at Real Madrid. However, there are other clubs willing to take a shot at the 25-year-old:

According to Cadena SER, Manchester City is making an effort to at least talk with Mbappé:

Kylian Mbappé held talks with Manchester City the day before he confirmed his decision to leave Paris Saint-Germain.

Per Defensa Central, City will go to battle with Madrid for the Frenchman:

City are prepared to compete with Real Madrid to sign Mbappé and will offer the Frenchman a higher wage to make the move to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

Marca, however, says that Mbappé is already tied to Madrid:

On the other hand, Mbappé has already signed his contract with Madrid. A five-year deal was agreed and completed two weeks ago.

To back that up Foot Mercato (via 90Min.com) is reporting that Real Madrid president already told the team that Mbappé is moving to the team this summer:

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has informed the first-team squad that Kylian Mbappé will be joining from PSG this summer.

Per Mundo Deportivo, Mbappé could get the number 10 jersey in Madrid:

With his preferred number seven already taken by Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid are likely to hand the number 10 shirt to Mbappé once Luka Modric’s exit is confirmed.

Stay tuned…we guess.

Bayern Munich have now suffered a third loss in a row, losing 3-2 to VfL Bochum and essentially killing the team’s chances at winning the Bundesliga and… possibly putting the nail in manager Thomas Tuchel’s coffin?

In this podcast, Samrin and Rayyan discuss what went wrong against Bochum, what’s going wrong in general at Bayern, and what Bayern’s future holds in trying to fix things. Included in this pod:-

• An overview of the VfL Bochum game, with lineups, a tactical discussion and general outlook of the match.
• Thomas Tuchel’s future at Bayern and why it should or should not end immediately.
• Bayern’s prospects for the managerial position if Tuchel were to depart now or in the summer.
• The problem with the players — a lack of motivation? Conviction? Or something else?
• Rayyan’s usual jabs at the existence of Twitter as a platform.

Liverpool FC is doing its due diligence in checking out whether or not it can make a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich this summer:

Things couldn’t be going much worse for Bayern Munich currently. The German record champions have lost three consecutive matches, against Bayer Leverkusen, Lazio and Bochum.

The futures of several key stars are up in the air. Veterans like Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer will be out of contract in 2025 with it currently unknown whether or not those World Cup winning legends will have their terms renewed. And key men Leroy Sane, Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich are also currently shrouded in doubt. They too are out of contract at the end of next season with no renewals on the table.

Sane has been linked with Barcelona as well as a return to the Premier League, it appears all but inevitable that Davies, meanwhile, will end up at Real Madrid. Bayern are not prepared to be held to ransom on new contracts and, therefore, top earners could be sacrificed this summer in order to bring in good fees.

January then brought news item after news item that Kimmich would be sold. Manchester United, Manchester City – coached by Kimmich’s former Bayern mentor Pep Guardiola – and Liverpool have all been mentioned as possible destinations.

Well…about that. Nothing is indicating that Kimmich will be sold, only that he might be open to a move. But, let’s carry on:

He stayed put through winter but the noises around his future have only grown louder. Kimmich battled back from a shoulder injury to put himself in contention for the Leverkusen game only for Tuchel to opt for youngster Aleksandar Pavlovic in midfield instead. That was seen as a controversial move at the time, given Kimmich’s status as squad leader, treble winner and general standard bearer over the last decade.

And now discussions have restarted over whether Kimmich’s Bayern days are numbered and, if so, that Liverpool might steal in for his signature. Kimmich would no doubt be seen as something of a transfer coup for Liverpool and a first arrival of a ‘world class’ player in their prime since Thiago, also from Bayern, in 2020.

And given his contract situation it could be a relatively economical signing. To get a player of Kimmich’s calibre for around £45m could be a shrewd piece of business.

If it came down to it though Liverpool wouldn’t be the only dogs in the fight. Guardiola, who signed Kimmich from RB Leipzig for Bayern nearly 10 years ago, would probably be interested while United are always in the market for top names. It all depends now on Kimmich, whether he demonstrates any intention to renew his contract or if he fancies a challenge at another club and, indeed, if his issues at Bayern can be sorted out in the event of a Tuchel departure.

Liverpool would provide ideal conditions for him to thrive and he could well become one of the key faces of the post-Jurgen Klopp regime.

Former Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee is reportedly getting interest for Chelsea FC, Manchester United, FC Barcelona, and Arsenal FC:

Chelsea face competition from Manchester United, Barcelona and Arsenal for the signature of Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee.