Daily Schmankerl: Real Madrid to pass on Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich; Gareth Southgate says Bayern move was great for Harry Kane; Ronald Araújo rejects FC Barcelona offer; Bayern’s next generation?; Julian Nagelsmann to Liverpool?; & MORE!

It looks like at least one club has decided to remove itself from the sweepstakes for Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich. Real Madrid is said to be exiting the race:

Joshua Kimmich, Bayern Munich’s star midfielder, is reportedly looking for a new club after his glum season under Thomas Tuchel. The 29-year-old is aware of the impending managerial change at Bayern but wishes to try a new adventure given his contract runs out in 2025. Real Madrid, unsurprisingly, was one of the clubs he favoured joining.

According to a recent report by Defensa Central, Florentino Perez has not yet begun studying the possible signing of Kimmich. Given the rich resources in the midfield, the administration do not consider his name as a potential signing. Real Madrid’s hesitance to rope in the German star opens the door for Luka Modric to stay at the club for one more season.

Should the likes of Modric and Kroos opt to leave the club, the Merengues’ decision around Kimmich is flexible and could change. As of today, however, it is not considered a priority operation, claims the same report.

Madrid would figure to be an attractive destination for Kimmich, so — if true — it would be good news for Bayern Munich if Los Blancos has, indeed, backed off.

England boss Gareth Southgate said that Harry Kane did well with his move to Bayern Munich.

“He‘s enjoying his experience. We haven’t been to many of the games live, but we watch all of his matches. It’s good to see the level of the Bundesliga. Of course you are under pressure. When you are in a club like FC Bayern you have to win every week. So this is good for Harry,” said Southgate.

Bayern Munich is back in action, but the news surrounding the club has exploded in recent days.

Transfer rumors, agent/front office squabbles, injuries, and just about everything in between have hit the news cycle and we are here to discuss it.

Let’s dig in. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:

• Assessing the players most likely to get a call into Germany for the EUROs and what the chances really are that any of them will convince Julian Nagelsmann before the deadline.
• The agent for Alphonso Davies took Bayern Munich to task over its “ultimatum” to accept a new deal. Can this situation be saved or it already too far gone?
• Looking at the most recent news on Bayern Munich’s coaching candidates.
• Assessing the transfers rumors linking Bayern Munich to VfB Stuttgart’s Chris Führich and what that could mean for the futures of Serge Gnabry and Bryan Zaragoza?

Bayern Munich’s roster is a mixed bag at the moment, but at some point, the veterans will be gone and the torch will officially be passed on to the next generation. When that does happen, Bayern Munich feels like it has some quality parts already in place:

Christoph Freund had a conversation with Jamal Musiala’s camp a few months ago, but it wasn’t about contractual details. It was just to get to know each other. There won’t be any contract negotiations during the season. Talks are to take place during the summer break at the earliest, with Max Eberl now in charge of negotiations. At the moment there’s no written or verbal offer from Bayern.

Max Eberl is already planning the Bayern spine of the future with youngsters. After Mathys Tel’s renewal, Eberl and Freund would also like to extend Jamal Musiala’s contract in the long-term as soon as possible. So far concrete negotiations have not taken place yet. The spine of the future is to be completed by Josip Stanišić, who will return from loan in the summer and is under contract until 2026, as well as midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović.

Could German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann be the next name on Liverpool FC’s list?

It seems as if that might be the case:

Brighton boss De Zerbi is also on Liverpool’s radar, having guided the Seagulls to Europa League football last season. Injury woes have stunted the south coast club’s progression this season but for his tactical nous and man-management, De Zerbi is high up on the list of any club eyeing a new manager this summer.

Another option touted has been Julian Nagelsmann, who is only 36-years-old and one of Europe’s most promising modern coaches, despite being in management for eight years already. Liverpool are thought to want a manager who will grow and develop with them, rather than a finished product.

Nagelsmann was appointed as head coach of the German national team in September but only on a short-term contract, allowing him to be in charge for this summer’s European Championships. That he currently looks set to become available this summer will set alarm bells ringing on Merseyside but cold water may soon be poured on the prospect of his appointment.

Bayern Munich is back in action and what better way to return from an international break than to dive right into a matchup against Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker.

Bayern Munich still has some belief in trying to win the Bundesliga, but even the players and coaches admit that it will take a lot of help from Bayer Leverkusen to make this a race down the stretch. For Borussia Dortmund, this is a chance to potentially stomp out any semblance of hope that Bayern Munich believes that it has.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:

• A look at where each team is in the table and why each club’s fanbase probably expected much more.
• Some thoughts on the recent form of each team and a look back at the first meeting between the two teams this season.
• A guess at Thomas Tuchel’s potential starting XI and why he should keep things the same.
• A prediction on the match.

To say that Leroy Sané has scuffled lately would be an understatement.

The winger is in the midst of a massive drought where he has not scored in over 1,800 minutes:

Harry Kane understands the magnitude of the type of season he is having with Bayern Munich and he wants to continue to push forward and do as much damage to the record books as possible.

“I’m always extremely proud to have those sort of records. It’s not something I set out to do at the start but once you hear about them and once people are talking about them, it of course means you’re doing something really well,” said Kane. “If you’d have told me I was going to do that at the start of the year, of course I’d have taken it — so I’m really happy from that sense, but as always, we try and push and try and see how far we can get.”

Bayern Munich’s time off is now over.

Germany faced off with a very strong team from the Netherlands in Frankfurt and won 2-1.

For Germany, this international break was extremely important and laid the groundwork for a new era with the national team.

Was it successful? Will Germany be able to make a run at winning a trophy this summer? Let’s take a look. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at Julian Nagelsmann’s starting XI and how those players performed.
• A rundown of the scoring and subs.
• A look at what’s next? What might need to change? What might be the foundation for things moving forward?
• Can Germany be a serious competitor at the EURO 2024 competition.

FC Barcelona has reportedly made defender Ronald Araújo a monster contract extension offer, but the Uruguayan has not responded as of yet:

FC Barcelona star Ronald Araujo has thus far ignored a renewal offer from the club, which knows that Bayern Munich is preparing a $108 million (€100 million) offer for the defender according to MARCA, citing anonymous sources.

Interest in Araujo from the Bavarians has been reported on since the turn of 2024, when it was revealed by Mundo Deportivo.

The Catalan newspaper explained that Araujo hadn’t decided his future and would wait to see how things pan out at the end of the ongoing season.

Before Xabi Alonso made it official yesterday that he was staying, Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky had some thoughts that it might be impossible for his coach to top this campaign:

With his manager under contract until 2026, Hradecky would love for him to stay but understands why he might choose to walk away at the end of this season should success be achieved.

“That’s our wish and dream [for him to stay],” the Finn told the Daily Mail. “Of course, no one would be angry or argue if he wins the Bundesliga and decides to go another route. There’s going to be another open post in the coach’s spot. There’s a lot to ponder but he’s enough of a gentleman to make the right decision and only he knows what’s best for him. We see on a daily basis that he loves to be in Leverkusen. He enjoys Dusseldorf where he lives. From another point of view: How can you make it better than this season?”

We know that Alonso is staying put now and Hradecky will help get the chance to see if the team can continue this insane rise in 2024/25.