Bayern Munich has been in talks with Paris Saint-Germain regarding Dutch attacker Xavi Simons for weeks now and reports have been all over the place on exactly how likely it might be to happen.
Per Abendzeitung journalist Maximilian Koch (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Simons has already made up his mind on where he wants to be — and it is not back at RB Leipzig again:
Xavi Simons ‘clearly prefers’ a move to Bayern over RB Leipzig.
The plot thickened a little more when Simons got a little cryptic with his Instagram story and posted this image:
Rumors also floated that Bayern Munich was prepared to drop €90 million to €100 million on Simons, but Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg indicated that idea was nonsense.
One thing is clear, though, and it is that Bayern Munich is going to push very hard to bring in Simons — and the driver of the action will board member for sport, Max Eberl, who brought Simons to Leipzig last season.
With Simons’ best position considered to be attacking midfield, it would appear that one of two things will happen (though there are other possibilities):
1 – Simons will be the team’s primary No. 10 with Musiala moving outside to wing (unlikely)
2 – Head coach Vincent Kompany will deploy a system using two attacking midfielders with Simons and Musiala.
Simons could fit into a lineup in a number of ways, but those two possibilities appear to have the best chance to happen. Simons can also play as a wing or second striker if needed.
Either way, some lineup shuffling will do go down. How do you think this ends up for Simons if he signs with Bayern Munich?
Poll
If Bayern Munich signs Xavi Simons, how would he fit into the lineup?
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Playing in a formation with two No. 10s alongside Jamal Musiala.
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Playing as a No. 10, pushing Musiala to wing.
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Playing as a wing.
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Playing as a second striker alongside Harry Kane.
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Bench player, unable to break into lineup.
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He won’t ultimately sign with Bayern Munich.
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0 votes total
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Song of the Week: “Walk of Life” by Dire Straits
Released in 1985, this is an absolute gem from Dire Straits.
It is weird because when I hear this, it instantly brings me back to being a nine-year-old and just how much simpler things were. Man…growing up in the 80s was awesome. Anyway, this tune still hits hard every time I hear it. Enjoy:
Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 54
Bayern Munich’s preseason preparations are underway and soon, the full roster will be back in Bavaria ready to hit the ground running in the club’s quest to get back into the trophy-winning game.
To get back to there, though, Bayern Munich will need to finalize what figures to be an active summer of roster moves. Let’s talk about all of that and more on this episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- After EUROs, it has come out that Harry Kane is hurt…what does this mean for Bayern Munich?
- Is Bayern Munich getting closer on Xavi Simons?
- Does Manchester United’s acquisition of Leny Yoro help or hurt Bayern Munich quest to sell Matthijs de Ligt? (It’s still a mistake by the way!)
- Response to a call or Q&A — and why it was the perfect segue to a discussion regarding Bayern Munich’s newfound plan to cut salaries for top players.
- Another week of rumors pointing toward an exit for Joshua Kimmich, but the potential moves for Alphonso Davies, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Kingsley Coman might be harder to manage.
- A quick lamentation on the injury to Lena Oberdorf.
Entertainment Rundown
The Boys
It is a double-pack of reviews for The Boys…
Season 4, Episode 7 — “The Insider”
- Much like the rest of the season, this episode was a mess, so let’s get to it.
- We did get the return of Frenchie, which made his whole confession to the police arc feel like an unnecessary waste of the viewer’s time.
- Similarly, Mother’s Milk gave up control of The Boys, which — again — was predictable and took up way too much of the season just for him to back away.
- The fight scene with The Deep and the new Black Noir vs. Annie, Hughie, and (eventually) A-Train and Mother’s Milk was….something.
- Homelander firing Sage was expected (you could see his tension building for weeks), but it also felt like it was “too dumb” of a move to make, even for a deranged version of Homelander.
- The Hughie scene with the shapeshifter was…ewww.
- Overall, the episode was slightly better than most this season, but still not great.
Rating: 6.50/10.00
Season 4, Episode 8 — “Assassination Run” renamed to “Season 4 Finale” — SPOILERS AHEAD
- Due to recent events in the United States, the episode was re-titled.
- As expected, the writers did try to ramp it up or the finale, but it was an effort that was too little, too late to save the season.
- Hughie…man, what a raw deal that guy has gotten.
- The continuing appearances of Joe Kessler really took some steam out of the plot. As much as Jeffrey Dean Morgan played the part well, it became wholly unnecessary after the big reveal a few episodes back.
- I’ve said it a million times, but Antony Starr’s ability to play a raging psychopath is freaking incredible.
- Ashlee pumping herself full of Compound V was an unexpected twist.
- Annie getting out of the handcuffs was silly, but her arriving on the scene just in time to make a save to take out the shapeshifter was…stupid. Worse, Annie getting mad at Hughie for his “relations” with the shapeshifter (how could he have known?) was, uh, weird.
- The onscreen relationship between The Deep and Black Noir II was a highlight of the season. It is stupid and silly, but it worked.
- Ryan taking out Grace was another unexpected twist that I didn’t see coming.
- Butcher’s reveal that he was back on Compound V was a total shocker and his killing of Neuman was a major curveball, along with the return of Sage. Of course, Sage’s long-term plan also worked or at least that is how she has portrayed it.
- The scene of Homelander addressing the country with “Heart Shaped Box” by Nirvana paying under it was a fantastic use of the music. Of course, it also left the audience with a slew of cliffhangers regarding the main characters.
- Finally, Soldier Boy looks like he will be making his return to the story next season.
- Overall, The Boys fell short of hitting the mark in a lot of ways this season and the finale was written to try and make sense of it all. It was a valiant effort, but it still fell a bit short on tying it all together. I did, however, enjoy the finale and how it was presented. The acting — as it always seems to do — amplified things in a good way. I won’t be crazy excited about the next season, but I will finish the series out.
Rating: 7.00/10.00
Season Rating: 6.00/10.00
House of the Dragon
- I’m going to preface this by saying I really do not want to sound like a hater, but this was not a good week for HotD.
- Earlier this season, we chatted about filler episodes and, yeah, this was another one of those.
- More dream sequences/hallucinations with Daemon, which was — again — weak.
- It is becoming clear that Rhaenyra is going to take some drastic measures. Her council can only keep her “out of the game” for so long.
- Meanwhile, Aegon is in really bad shape, but it does appear as if he and his dragon (Sunfyre) are surviving (at least for now).
- Aemond appears to have shifted into being someone that both sides of this conflict probably have doubts about. That said, he is still one of the two or three most intriguing characters in the show.
- Overall, House of the Dragon still struggles with its pacing and has become too reliant on time-wasting scenes. The action will be coming and there will be death…a lot of it, but the writing needs to be more crisp. Even in a story where both parties are “the bad guy”, it is possible for the plot to be more sharp and engaging.
Rating: 6.00/10.00