Daily Schmankerl: Pep Guardiola wants Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala at Manchester City; Bayern still eyeing Juventus star Adrien Rabiot?; Chelsea leading Manchester United on Thomas Tuchel?; FC Barcelona’s Ronald Araújo headed to England?; and MORE!

The links between Manchester City and Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala continue to pop up and it sees as if the German youngster is a priority target for Pep Guardiola this summer:

Man City boss Pep Guardiola has made Jamal Musiala his top target to replace Bernardo Silva in the summer transfer window, according to reports. Their continued success has seen reports that some players are looking for a new challenge with Portugal international Silva particularly heavily linked with a transfer.

One report claimed earlier this month that Silva has ‘decided to leave’ Man City in the summer, while another insisted that the attacking midfielder’s ‘time is over’ at the Etihad Stadium. There had even been claims that Barcelona are prepared to swap Silva for Frenkie de Jong if Man City also provide them with €30m on top.

And now Spanish website Fichajes insists that Paris Saint-Germain are the ‘new club that has shown a firm interest in the Portuguese midfielder for next season’. And Fichajes adds that Guardiola ‘wants to replace’ Silva with Bayern Munich winger Musiala as Man City look to sign a young player with a ‘greater future’.

Guardiola is understood to be ‘dreaming’ of the ‘top-level incorporation’ of Musiala with the Citizens ‘closely following the evolution of the young German talent’. It is claimed that the Bayern Munich star will have to ‘choose between’ Man City and Real Madrid if he decides to leave the Bundesliga.

Many clubs likely want Musiala, but the reality is that he is likely not going anywhere unless he forces a move. For now, Bayern Munich can continue to plan with Musiala being a key part of their attack.

Bayern Munich has been linked to Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot off-and-on for years now, but it seems like those rumors could be spiking once again:

Adrien Rabiot’s mother and agent Veronique met with Juventus on the weekend to try and take stock of the midfielder’s contract talks amidst interest from Bayern Munich.

The 29-year-old Frenchman kept things tense in Turin last year as his contract started to tick down, only putting pen to paper on a new one-year deal on June 27, just three days before he was able to leave as a free agent.

Rabiot only signed a one-year renewal with Juventus worth €7.5m net per season, a salary the club aren’t keen to continue meeting for the long-term. With just over two months left on his contract, a decision needs to be made soon.

Page seven of today’s Gazzetta dello Sport details how Veronique Rabiot met with Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli on Saturday, ahead of the Serie A clash with Milan, to continue discussions regarding a possible contract.

The Old Lady haven’t presented a concrete offer to the Frenchman and expect the player to take the first step in the talks. Whilst the club don’t want to pay his €7.5m for years to come, he isn’t interested in another short-term deal.

For now, everything is on standby, and Bayern Munich are keeping a close eye on the situation, interested in making a move on a free transfer in the summer.

After the enthralling Champions League battle vs. Real Madrid, Bayern Munich must now rebound to face a very good VfB Stuttgart side in the Bundesliga.

The Bavarians will want to remain hot with their play and — ironically — it will be one of their own players, Alexander Nübel, trying to stand in the way of Bayern Munich’s efforts to maintain momentum.

Will Nübel pull a Josip Stanišić? Hopefully not. Here is what we have on tap for episode of the Bavarians Podcast Works — Preview Show:

• Where Bayern Munich stands after the draw with Real Madrid.
• A look at the recent league form of both clubs.
• Updates on injured Bayern Munich players.
• A guess at Thomas Tuchel’s potential starting XI.
• A prediction on the match.

Chelsea FC is — allegedly — pondering the possibility of bringing back Thomas Tuchel, but Manchester United is also in the mix for the Bayern Munich coach:

Chelsea may have a significant advantage over Manchester United if the two Premier League titans go head-to-head for Thomas Tuchel this summer. Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag could both lose their jobs as a consequence for underwhelming seasons.

Pochettino is due for a meeting with the Chelsea board at the end of the season. His players showed they are still fighting for him in a 2-2 draw at Aston Villa last weekend after coming from two goals down but the Argentine may still be a casualty of another troubled season at Stamford Bridge.

FC Barcelona is reportedly eyeing Newcastle United attacker Alexander Isak:

Barcelona have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Newcastle’s Alexander Isak. The Magpies could be forced to sell the Sweden striker in order to stay within the Premier League’s PSR and UEFA’s FFP regulations.

According to TBR Football, though, Newcastle could be contemplating keeping Isak:

Conversely, Newcastle are ready to hand Isak a new contract as a lack of Champions League football next season will see his wages fall as it stands.

Bayern Munich battled to a 2-2 draw that will leave some fans disappointed and others feeling hopeful.

Let’s not waste any time with the pleasantries, though, there is a lot to talk about on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. Here is what we have on tap.

• Initial thoughts on the outcome and why this was one of Bayern Munich’s best starts to a match for the season.
• The crowd was electric and lived up to what was needed from them.
• A look at Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI — once again, Tuchel was unpredictable and once again it worked out really well.
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• This will always be known as the “Kim Min-jae Game.”
• No, Bayern Munich fans, it is NOT all over and you should feel good about where things stand heading into the return leg in Spain.

Didi Hamann knows a thing or two about Liverpool FC’s history and recently took some time to break down the legacy of Jürgen Klopp.

“I think he changed the mentality in the whole city. The club had been overdue success for a long time, then they obviously won the Premier League, they won the Champions League and reached a load of finals along the way. But when he took over, I think the Champions League win or even the Champions League final was a long shot. You look at the team which he played for his first game and then the players he brought in, what he’s got out of those players, it’s been a fantastic journey,” Hamann said. “There are probably one or two more big titles over his reign that he should have won, especially the last Champions League final against Madrid. That was probably a game they should have won, but you need a bit of luck as well.

“But he has changed the mentality in the whole city and gave the fans belief and this is what Liverpool is all about. It’s been a whirlwind romance pretty much since day one. But it has lasted. People say, oh, it would have been great to have him another one or two years but if he says he can’t do it no more. He hasn’t got the energy then we have to accept that. But what he has accomplished in the eight or nine years, I don’t think many people would have thought it when he started.”

Oscar Garcia, who coached Konrad Laimer at RedBull Salzburg, has big praise for the midfielder.

“I’ve never seen a player with better counter-pressing than him. He’s simply fantastic, he’s one of the top 5 players in that aspect. He does it so well. Of course he can also play as a right-back, he is fast, he is aggressive. But in my opinion he needs more space to fully exploit his football abilities,” said Garcia.

Bayern Munich are about to face Real Madrid in their first Champions League semi-final since 2020. However, that’s not what everyone is talking about. Uli Hoeneß made some inflammatory comments about Thomas Tuchel in the German media and the coach decided to respond in kind. This sort of row is nothing new at the club, but the timing does threaten to derail the club’s most promising CL campaign in years. Is the toxicity at FC Hollywood going too far?

In this episode, INNN and Samrin discuss the following:

• Why did Uli Hoeneß say what he did?
• How this stunt will be seen by coaches and clubs across Europe.
• Uli being Uli — is it time for him to change?
• Why Bayern Munich seem to be having such a hard time finding a new coach.
• Misgivings about hiring Ralf Rangnick.
• How the controversy and the coaching situation could affect the Real Madrid game.
• How will Thomas Tuchel choose to tackle Madrid? What are his options?

Bayern Munich star Harry Kane was named to WhoScored.com’s Bundesliga Team of the Week:

Manchester United is expected to make a hard charge at FC Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo:

Manchester United will step up their interest in Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, with the Red Devils ready to open talks over an £85m deal for the Uruguayan.