Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich throwing curveball at Bayer Leverkusen in hunt for defender?; Désiré Doué goes official with PSG; Man City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool eyeing Marco Verratti?; Federico Chiesa getting “Goretzka’d”; and MORE!

While Bayern Munich has been linked to Bayer Leverkusen center-back Jonathan Tah for the better part of the summer, what if Tah was not the primary target of the Bavarians after all?

What if it was his 22-year-old colleague, Piero Hincapié?

Well, at least one report is stating that Bayern Munich is keeping a very close on the center-back from Ecuador:

Bayern Munich will reportedly compete with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur for 22-year-old Bayer Leverkusen defender Piero Hincapie this summer.

According to a report by Ecuadorian outlet Studio Futbol, Piero Hincapie is the subject of interest from Bayern Munich. The Bavarian giants are keen on signing a centre-back, with their move for Jonathan Tah hitting a snag. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Bayer Leverkusen defender is also a target for Liverpool and Tottenham, with Xabi Alonso keen to keep him at the Bundesliga club.

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur hold a long-standing interest in the young centre-back. The Reds have been keen on signing a central defender in the summer transfer window after losing Joel Matip as a free agent. Hincapie has thus emerged as a viable target for Liverpool.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in Piero Hincapie is understandable. The North London giants are keen on completing their central defensive unit, although the Bayer Leverkusen centre-back will unlikely become the first-choice central defender for them. As for Bayern Munich, they are scouring the market for a replacement for Matthijs de Ligt, who has joined Manchester United.

Jonathan Tah has been Bayern Munich’s top target for the summer transfer window. However, the rumour mill has gone cold, forcing Die Roten to identify alternatives. Hincapie is thus a viable option for Bayern Munich. However, Xabi Alonso has requested the Ecuadorian international to remain at BayArena beyond the summer transfer window.

Bayern Munich’s interest in Hincapié dates back to 2021 and while this move seems unlikely, the Bavarians could seek alternatives to Jonathan Tah if they start to feel like a deal cannot get done.

Désiré Doué finally put pen to paper and inked his contract with Paris Saint-Germain:

Bayern Munich came into its DFB-Pokal match against SSV Ulm looking to exorcise the ghosts of past German Cups.

Consider that mission accomplished as the Bavarians stormed away from SSV Ulm for a thoroughly dominant 4-0 win in a match where the squad was never seriously threatened.

Bayern Munich put forth a first strong effort and gave Vincent Kompany his first real win as manager at the club. Let’s take a look at what’s on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:

• A look at Kompany’s starting XI — what was shocking (not much) vs. what was expected (pretty much all of it).
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• Appreciating the greatness of Thomas Müller.
• The midfield of Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović.
• This was nice, but it will likely be different moving forward.
• Addressing the Leon Goretzka news.

Despite some rumors to the contrary, Manchester United is not considering a move for FC Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong:

❌ Despite some other reports, Manchester United is not considering a transfer for Frenkie de Jong ✔️

Clearly told that he won’t join ManUtd until Deadline Day.

No talks. No negotiations.

⚠️ #MUFC and Jorge Mendes still working on Manuel #Ugarte as the deal is still not off as always reported. ManUtd exploring more options besides Ugarte in case the transfer ultimately falls through.

Former Bayern Munich outside-back Noussair Mazraoui got the starting nod for his debut with the club, 1-0 win over Fulham FC. After the match, Mazraoui spoke about the pressure to perform.

“To perform, to have pressure that you always have to become champion, I think I’m really used to that because of the clubs I’ve played for now. If the club demands that, if the fans demand that of the club, they demand it of you, of course,
Mazraoui said. “You have to perform, it’s no question.”

While Mazraoui was in the starting XI, Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench in the victory. Zirkzee scored the game winner in the 87th minute.

Bayern Munich’s preseason is essentially over (the new friendly vs. Grasshopper Club Zürich notwithstanding) and the team is looking more and more like a finished product.

That said, a lot happened since our last Weekend Warm-up Show, so there was a lot to talk about. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:

• Since we last spoke: Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui officially skipped town for Manchester United, Désiré Doué chose Paris Saint-Germain, Alphonso Davies is in limbo, and Kingsley Coman’s future is up in the air. This is fine.
• Marco Reus is off to MLS and the LA Galaxy. Will Robert Lewandowski join him at some point? Also, some brief thoughts on the steroid topic from this week.
• What can go right and what can wrong for Bayern Munich.
• A brief entertainment rundown and some podcast-related announcements.

FC Barcelona could be ready to get serious with Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman:

Nico Williams remains the top priority for FC Barcelona in this summer transfer window, but with only a few days left before the 2024-25 season starts, the Catalans have still not been able to sign him.

With Nico’s arrival anything but certain at this point in time, the Blaugranes are also keeping their eyes on some other players to whom they can turn if they miss out on this target. As already reported, the Liverpool winger Luis Diaz was at the top of this contingency list for Barcelona.

However, as SPORT has reported, the Premier League side has closed the door on the possibility of a departure for the Colombian, and thus, it is highly unlikely that he will join Barcelona this summer.

The new Liverpool coach, Arne Slot, recently confirmed that Luis Diaz was going to remain in his team for the upcoming season: “The future of Luis Díaz is with us. I really like what I’ve seen from him. He has had a great impact on the game, and I like him a lot.”

As is clear from Slot’s comments, Diaz is going to be an important player for Liverpool next season. Thus, he is now farther away from Barcelona, as the Catalans were going to find it difficult to finance his transfer even if Liverpool were open to selling.

With Diaz ruled out, FC Barcelona are now tracking other options in the market, and the Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman is emerging as a player on whose signing the Catalans can arrive at a consensus.

The €50m-rated Frenchman can leave the Bavarian team on loan this summer, and he has also been offered to the Blaugranes, but PSG are also interested in him. Hansi Flick already knows him as he had Coman under his command while he was coaching Bayern Munich.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti made it pretty clear, his “squad is closed”:

The reality is that Bayern Munich might now lose Davies for free next summer, unless it wants to pay an arm and a leg for a player, whose progress has plateaued.

Bayern Munich might be not be willing to gamble as much as it would take to retain Davies — which is rumored to be north of €14 million per season. That would be quite a hefty sum for a club reportedly trying to course-correct its budget.

So preseason is practically over and Bayern Munich have emerged with the prestigious Visit Malta Cup and extended bragging rights over Tottenham Hotspur supporters. However, who were the major winners and losers from the whole exercise? What did we learn about Vincent Kompany’s plans for next season?

In this episode, INNN and Samrin discuss the following:

• What is up with Leon Goretzka? Is he finally being pushed out?
• Will Vincent Kompany actually use Thomas Müller in an important role this season?
• Why Harry Kane might need to adjust his game.
• The new midfield — first impressions of Palhinha, and Joshua Kimmich’s current role.
• What we like from Kompany so far.
• The issue of selling Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui, and how this may have unforeseen consequences.
• Will Bayern Munich make further transfers this summer?
• Answering supporter questions re: Upamecano, the squad planning, and transfers.

It appears that Juventus is COMPLETELY done with Federico Chiesa:

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool FC, and Arsenal FC are all reportedly taking a look at Marco Verratti, who has been playing in Qatar:

Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal have all been offered the chance to sign former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti, who currently plays for Qatari side Al-Arabi.