Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich scared off by Adrien Rabiot’s asking price; No formal offers yet for Robin Gosens; Liverpool’s Sepp van den Berg to Brentford?; Chelsea freezes out two players, but brings back João Félix permanently; and MORE!

For years now, Bayern Munich has been loosely linked to free agent midfielder Adrien Rabiot — and that has not changed this summer.

Per L’Equipe, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Atlético de Madrid all made contact with Rabiot’s representatives:

Bayern, Inter and Atlético Madrid have made contact with Adrien Rabiot, currently a free agent, at some point this summer but there was no agreement. Bayern are unlikely to be willing to pay Rabiot’s salary, estimated at €7.5m net per year. The player’s priority is a move to the Premier League. His mother/agent Veronique is holding talks with interested clubs.

Leon Goretzka appears to be sticking with the club (at least as of now), so it seems very unlikely that the Bavarians would be seeking to add a sixth midfielder into the mix (and that does not even count youngster Javier Fernández) — even if he would be available for free.

Rabiot’s profile would seem to be redundant at Bayern Munich at this point, so maybe his desire to play in the Premier League is for the best.

If you cut Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy, he will bleed Red Bull:

Bayern Munich will kick off its Bundesliga season on Sunday vs. VfL Wolfsburg in a match that will tell us a lot about what Vincent Kompany has in its plans for the squad this season.

For the most part, Bayern Munich is healthy and seems poised to make a strong run at winning the Meisterschale. There is a lot of time between now and when that would happen, though, so fans are going to have endure through the ups-and-downs of the season.

Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for the match that will start another journey:

• What to watch for with Wolfsburg.
• A look at Bayern Munich’s injury situation.
• A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
• A prediction on the match.

Union Berlin has not received any formal offers for Robin Gosens as of yet. Crystal Palace is rumored to be interested, but PSV Eindhoven’s pursuit has cooled off:

Union Berlin have not yet received an offer from Crystal Palace for Robin #Gosens.

… but Palace still exploring deal to sign the 30 y/o left wing back.

Union Berlin, very open to keep Gosens as one of their key players and only willing to negotiate with suitable offers of at least €10m.

PSV Eindhoven interest cooled down. @CPFC, the most concrete option at this stage.

Liverpool FC’s Sepp van den Berg could be headed to Brentford FC. The defender spent last season on loan with Mainz 05 and was linked to Bayer Leverkusen:

In the past few days there was a phone call between Xabi Alonso and Sepp van den Berg ✔️

⚠️ Personal terms with SvdB are not an issue. Concrete negotiations with #LFC have taken place as revealed yesterday. Liverpool willing to agree: £20m + £5m add-ons.

At this stage too expensive for Leverkusen and Bayer 04 only considering to sign the 22 y/o in the event that another defender leaves the club until Deadline Day.

Stuttgart was also pushing for him until Tuesday. He was their plan A. Now out of the race.

@BrentfordFC, 100 % there and willing to pay 20+5 and now waiting for the player‘s decision.

Welcome to Part 2 of the 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 2 will cover predictions for the 12th to 7th place finishes. Marcus will offer insights on:

• Which teams will secure European qualification by finishing 8th and 7th?
• Why he doesn’t rate Hoffenheim head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
• Why VfB Stuttgart might be in for a tough season.
• And much more!

Part 1 covered the 18th to 13th place finishes and included the following predictions:

18. VfL Bochum

17. Holstein Kiel

16. FC Heidenheim

15. FSV Mainz 05

14. FC St. Pauli

13. FC Augsburg

At least the Leon Goretzka situation at Bayern Munich did not take this kind of turn — Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell have been bounced to training with the reserve team. This, however, is exactly what you would expect at a club like Chelsea FC (aka a total mess):

Former Bayern Munich midfielder Niklas Dorsch will not be taking a loan to RSC Anderlecht, as FC Augsburg did not accept the terms of the agreement:

You come here daily. You read the posts. You listen to the podcasts (or at least you should).

Heck, you might even banter with some of BFW staffers in the comments or on social media.

But…do you really know us?

Now, you will get that chance. In a Bavarian Podcast Works Special Edition Series, we are unleashing unveiling “BFW Behind the Scenes.”

In this series you will get to know some of the BFW staffers a little better than you already do. Find out how they got involved with Bayern Munich, Bavarian Football Works, what they like, what they’re into, and what they are expecting from the Bavarians this season.

So settle in for some fun as Chuck Smith hosts “BFW Behind the Scenes” — a fun set of conversations with BFW staffers. We’ve got an entire slate of BFW’ers ready to go. Check out the podcasts and let us know what you think!

In this edition, you will meet Marc aka Marclk.

These pictures might look like the kid just had his first day of 8th grade, but he really just inked a big deal with Chelsea FC. There was some confusion about whether it would be a permanent move or a loan, but João Félix is now off Atlético Madrid’s books for good:

Manchester United was reportedly trying to outduel Liverpool FC for Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili:

Manchester United are looking to hijack Liverpool’s move for Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili but must first sell a fringe player like winger Jadon Sancho to raise the required funds.

Liverpool, however, kept a stronghold on the goalkeeper:

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!