Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola could be ready to break his own transfer rule to bring in Joshua Kimmich from Bayern Munich.
Typically, Guardiola avoids poaching players from his old teams, but could be ready to make an exception for the Germany international:
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has only ever made two exceptions to his transfer rule. Pep Guardiola could recruit from a former club this summer despite the Manchester City manager working to a personal rule which prevents him doing just that. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach has only broken the rule twice before, although the latest transfer opportunity could prove too tempting to pass up.
Guardiola first tapped into a previous club’s resources when he lured Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona to Bayern in 2013. He did it again three years later with Claudio Bravo, who he brought to the Etihad Stadium from Barca after controversially dropping goalkeeper Joe Hart.
According to Guardiola’s biographer, Marti Perarnau, the manager tries to keep such moves to a minimum. However, recent reports suggest he may be about to break his rule for the second time since landing at City eight years ago. According to HITC, City are closely monitoring Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich. Guardiola signed Kimmich from RB Leipzig in 2015 and threw him straight into the first team in Bavaria.
Nearly 400 appearances later, it’s clear that Guardiola correctly identified a star of the future and he could reunite with the 29-year-old this summer. Kimmich is approaching the final year of his contract, forcing Bayern to sell over the coming months or risk losing him for free next year.
RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Šeško had a very strong finish to his season and has now attracted interest from Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, and AC Milan among other clubs.
In fact, BVB considers Šeško to be a dream signing:
Sport Bild reports that Borussia Dortmund’s dream target for the striker position this summer is RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Seško.
Dortmund have been linked to several strikers this summer, including VfB Stuttgart’s Sehrou Guirassy, but Seško is said to be their dream option to boost their forward line.
However, Seško’s €65m release clause makes any transfer basically impossible for Dortmund to complete. On top of this, they will have to compete with teams from abroad with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and AC Milan all having shown interest in the Slovenian international.
Ultimately Seško future is up to him. In his first season in the Bundesliga, he finished with 14 goals after a slow start after joining from Red Bull Salzburg last summer.
A move away from the Bundesliga so soon may be the wrong move for the 21-year-old as he has shown that despite his great ball-striking ability, he can be very wasteful in front of goal. An extra year in Germany will give him the chance to hone his skills even more before taking the leap to a bigger club where he would shine.
At one point, Seško was on Bayern Munich’s transfer radar, but his price has likely grown to be too high for the Bavarians. Would Vincent Kompany’s projected more to a 4-4-2 formation cause Bayern Munich to at least kick the tires on the Slovenian?
There is a lot of moving and shaking going on at Bayern Munich and the German national team these days, which means there is a lot to talk about. This is what we have on tap for the latest edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- Vincent Kompany wants to play a 4-4-2 (hmmm), sell some wingers (yeah!), and has six players targeted for five positions (Paris Saint-Germain’s Xavi Simons, Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah, FC Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong, VfB Stuttgart’s Chris Führich, VfB Stuttgart, Fulham’s João Palhinha, and Everton’s Amadou Onana). What does all of this mean? Let’s discuss.
- Are we in the final days of Joshua Kimmich being a player at Bayern Munich?
- Is Julian Nagelsmann’s loyalty to İlkay Gündoğan going to cost him…and the German national team?
- A little bit of the Entertainment Rundown.
Iam Maatsen had a miserable Champions League finale for Borussia Dortmund and it looks like he will be headed back to Chelsea FC after some speculation that BVB would consider triggering the release clause:
Manchester City and Chelsea FC both want Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, but think that the Canadian is too far down the road with Real Madrid:
Chelsea and Manchester City are keen on Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies but the Canadian has a different priority this summer, HITC understands.
Both Premier League giants are set to be in for an important summer with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City bidding to retain their league title, whilst Chelsea are set for their first transfer window under Enzo Maresca.
One star defender who looks set to be on the market this summer is Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies, who has consistently performed and was superb during Bayern Munich’s Champions League victory in 2020.
A move away from the Allianz Arena is a real possibility this summer, but despite interest from the Premier League, Davies has a different move in mind.
Alphonso Davies of Bayern Muenchen in action during the Bundesliga match between TSG Hoffenheim and FC Bayern München at PreZero-Arena on May 18, 2…
HITC understands that despite interest from England, the Canadian remains determined on moving to Real Madrid this summer, if that opportunity presents itself.
Chelsea and City are long-term admirers of Davies and retained some hope that they could jump on a deal but that possibility is dependent on whether Madrid could afford the deal this summer.
Germany swung and swung relentlessly at Ukraine, but the Ukrainian defense decided to honour their fellow countryman and recently crowned undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk by maneuvering expertly around all the offense thrown at them with excellent blocks and weaves.
In this episode of the Postgame Show, Cyler (Rayyan) goes over the game, including:
- The starting XIs and general shape of both Germany and Ukraine.
- The tactical decisions made by head coach Julian Nagelsmann, namely those seemingly made to conserve the players.
- How Germany are beginning to break into the final third, but are failing to break through when in the final third.
- Some exciting individual performances from Maximilian Beier and Maximilian Mittelstädt.
- Some worrying individual performances from Kai Havertz and İlkay Gündoğan.
- The social dynamics of the team, and how Gündoğan’s captaincy is likely more important behind the scenes than on the pitch.
Bayern Munich is — allegedly — still keeping an eye on Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, though these reports are all over the place:
The transfer window is almost upon us and Manchester United have yet to decide whether Erik ten Hag will be manager next season. Fans expect a squad overhaul but many will be disappointed if club captain Bruno Fernandes is one to depart.
Fabrizio Romano ran an interesting update on Friday evening regarding Bruno Fernandes. The Italian reporter suggested that the player’s agent, Miguel Pinho, met with several top European clubs last week.
Stretty News has since learned that Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are showing significant interest in Fernandes. The Bavarian side are planning for the upcoming transfer window and the United midfielder is on their radar.
Bayern appointed Vincent Kompany as their new manager this week, and they will be looking to add more quality to their squad after a disappointing campaign that led to Thomas Tuchel’s departure.
Although it was a difficult season for United, Fernandes won the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. After scoring 15 goals and registering 13 assists throughout the campaign, he performed superbly in the FA Cup final win over Man City.
No. No. No. No. No.
Bayern Munich still looks like it has Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz in its crosshairs for the summer of 2025:
As reported by Sky Germany, Florian Wirtz is at the top of Bayern Munich’s wishlist for the summer of 2025.
At the age of 21, Florian Wirtz was named the Bundesliga player of the season after helping guide Bayer Leverkusen to their maiden meisterschale. Despite failing to win an unprecedented treble after falling to defeat at the hands of Atalanta in the Europa League final, Die Werkself were still able to complete the domestic double.
With 18 goals and 20 assists in 49 appearances, Wirtz became one of the most feared players in Europe last season. Nevertheless, how long will Leverkusen be able to hold onto their prized asset?
It is understood that Wirtz’s deal at the BayArena is set to expire in 2027, meaning that Leverkusen will be able to secure a lucrative fee for his services if they are to sell him either this summer or next. Regardless, speaking to Sky Germany, Wirtz explained that he is not interested in talking about his future until the European championships are over.
It is expected that Wirtz will remain at Leverkusen next season, as his father and advisor Hans-Joachim Wirtz has repeatedly explained. However, with Bayern placing the 21-year-old at the top of their wishlist for the summer of 2025, Der Rekordmeister will look to persuade Wirtz on their project as they look to land his signature.
Bayern Munich, usually a very well run club, is going through a dreadful transition period currently. Vincent Kompany has taken over as manager and things are not exactly rosy. We look at how Kompany’s time at Bayern might pan out, recent transfer rumors and more including:
- A video of Kompany berating players is rumored to be circulating among Bayern players — will this help or hurt Kompany?
- Will many players leave Bayern Munich ahead of the next season?
- Does Bayern Munich really need to be rebuilt?
- Are the expectations for Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany too high?
- What will be considered a successful European championship tournament for Germany?
- Should Leroy Sané’s contract be extended?
- A few thoughts on Borussia Dortmund’s defeat in the UEFA Champions League final.
Tottenham Hotspur is eyeing Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyökeres as an option at striker:
Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres as they search for a long-term successor to Harry Kane.
Per Football Insider (via 90Min.com), Spurs are also looking closely at VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy:
Spurs have also been alerted to the £17.5m release clause in Stuttgart forward Serhou Guirassy’s contract.
This is a crazy stat on Chelsea’s Mykhailo Mudryk: