Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka to Manchester United?; Arsenal offered Kingsley Coman?; Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold eyeing future with Bayern?; İlkay Gündoğan out at FC Barcelona?; Erling Haaland’s revenge; and MORE!

This seems doubtful, but Manchester United is always looking for a transfer bargain — could the Red Devils take a chance on Bayern munich midfielder Leon Goretzka? Erik ten Hag had interest in the 29-year-old at one point and now the midfielder could be available for a cut-rate fee:

Bayern Munich are reportedly ready to force Leon Goretzka out of the club just one year after Erik ten Hag was rumoured to be eyeing him up for his Manchester United midfield.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Bayern will make it clear to Goretzka that he is not part of Kompany’s first-team plans this season. Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlovic started at the base of midfield against Ulm, with new signing Joao Palhinha coming off the bench.

The situation could play straight into United’s hands if Ten Hag reignites his interest in Goretzka. Last summer it emerged that United had held internal talks over signing the German and were weighing up whether to submit a formal bid.

The fact Goretzka has been deemed surplus to requirements will likely have seen his price tag tumble since United showed interest last year, making him a more affordable option than the Red Devils’ current top midfield target, Manuel Ugarte.

For this move to go down, Bayern Munich would probably have to eat some of Goretzka’s salary — or the German would have to agree to take a pay cut. At this point, nothing is out of the realm of possibility, but it does feel like Goretzka is staying with Bayern Munich (at least as of now).

Arsenal FC was — allegedly — offered the chance to grab Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman:

Arsenal have also been heavily linked with a potential new attacking option, and Bayern’s Kingsley Coman is among the many names mentioned by media sources in the last fortnight.

The Frenchman, who scored five goals and bagged three assists in 27 appearances across all competitions last term, also suffered from an array of injury problems – with both knee and adductor issues keeping him out for long periods.

Coman’s injury record is a questionable one, and it perhaps put Arteta off. According to GiveMeSport journalist Dean Jones, Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign Coman from Bayern Munich this summer, but it doesn’t appear likely that Edu and co will go down that avenue.

Separate reports last week claimed Coman is actually pretty keen on a move to Arsenal, and he’d cost a maximum fee of around £34 million. Yet, despite these factors and obvious quality when available, the 28-year-old doesn’t appear close to a north London switch as things stand.

In a lot of ways, Arsenal would be a fit for Coman, but his salary and injury history are going to give many clubs trepidation about such a move.

Welcome to the new Bundesliga 2024/25 Prediction Series!

The concept is simple: Marcus Iredahl, a Bundesliga fanatic and self-proclaimed mediocre predictor, will review all the Bundesliga teams for the upcoming 2024/25 season and predict their final standings.

So please join him as he will review all the teams, offering his insights on their summer transfer window, coach, and the top 3 players to watch this season.

Part 1 will cover predictions for the 18th to 13th place finishes. Marcus will offer insights on:

• The relegation battle: Which two teams will be automatically relegated?
• Which team will finish 16th and be forced to play the infamous relegation/promotion game at the end of the season? (Marcus’ pick may surprise you…)
• Why Paul Wanner will be a player to watch this season.
• And much more!

Dean Saunders thinks that Liverpool FC’s Trent Alexander-Arnold could have a future with…Bayern Munich? Well, let’s see what he has to say:

“What worries me and it’s a massive concern,” the pundit told TalkSPORT. “The four best players are Alisson, Van Dijk, Salah and Trent. They are world-class and they make the rest of the squad really good. If you lose those four players, then Liverpool are in big trouble.

“Don’t be surprised if you see Trent playing at Bayern Munich or Real Madrid shortly,” Saunders adds. “Or, I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Saudis offered him a ridiculous amount of money. Same for Van Dijk, he’s in his thirties. Salah, is he sill as motivated as he’s always been? Or is he thinking ‘I could end up in Saudi, three year contract on about two billion quid.’”

Oh, p*ss off! Is this red card worthy? You be the judge:

One DFB-Pokal match is in the books (an easy 4-0 win over SSV Ulm), but the hard work really does lie ahead for Bayern Munich.

The Bavarians kick off the Bundesliga on Sunday against Wolfsburg, which is just one of the topics on the agenda to discuss for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show. Check out what we have on tap:

• Coming down from game one, where do things stand heading into the Bundesliga opener.
• Is the club doing Leon Goretzka dirty, hurting itself, or both? This is truly a complex situation.
• Is Kingsley Coman the next Bayern Munich player on his way out?
• Checking in on the forgotten man, Paul Wanner. The youngster impresses for Heidenheim…what does that mean?
• Some news on the upcoming BPW schedule that you will not want to miss.

İlkay Gündoğan retired from international football on Monday, but it also seems like he is moving on from FC Barcelona:

Fabrizio Romano indicated that the former Germany captain might be looking at a return to Manchester City:

How does the saying go, “If you come at the king, you best not miss”:

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.

It was widely-assumed that Southampton’s Armel Bella-Kotchap would be making the move to Hoffenheim, until something went awry with his physical exam. Now, the transfer is off the table:

João Félix will be headed back to Chelsea FC where he spent the second half of the 2022/23 season:

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.