It is no secret that Bayern Munich wants Bayer Leverkusen ace Florian Wirtz.
It is also no secret that the two clubs have built up some heat in recent months, so Bayer Leverkusen is not too thrilled about the noise that a move could happen this summer.
In fact, Die Werkself wants to “block” Wirtz from transferring to Bayern Munich, but — if things take a turn for the worse — want to at least ensure they make a nice chunk of change from a sale of Wirtz:
Florian #Wirtz is FC Bayern’s top target for the coming summer. Max Eberl has already held initial talks, and Bayern are ready to spend a massive transfer fee ✔️
However, Leverkusen are determined to block a move to Bayern!
From Leverkusen’s perspective, Manchester City are currently the club showing the most serious interest in the 21y/o and making the strongest efforts at the moment.
If Wirtz decides to leave, Bayer definitely want to make him their record sale.
X account @iMiaSanMia added more context to Plettenberg’s report with additional information on what kind of fee Leverkusen wants:
In case of a sale, Bayer Leverkusen’s goal is to get €90-100m plus X for Florian Wirtz. The X could be either add-ons or players included in the deal.
Like the Leroy Sané pursuit, it just feels like Bayern Munich is on a mission with this potential transfer. It really feels like it is a matter of “when” and not “if” this happens. As expected, though, Bayer Leverkusen is going to attempt to make this as difficult a process as possible.
Turkish phenom Arda Guler is not getting the kind of playing time that he wants, but he still is not considering a move (at least for now) away from the club:
Arda Guler remains happy at Real Madrid and has no imminent plans to leave despite rumours suggesting he could return to Turkey.
Bayern Munich is back in action and — like always — there is a lot to talk about with the team.
The Bavarians have a big match with VfB Stuttgart, but there are a lot of high-level subjects that have rushed to the forefront of what fans are debating, so let’s get to it! This is what we have on tap for this week’s episode of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- The connections between Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart are wild.
- Paul Wanner is looking more and more like a star. Does he have a role with Bayern Munich next season? Will he be blocked if the club extends Jamal Musiala and acquires Florian Wirtz?
- A listener Q&A segment.
- Alphonso Davies to…FC Barcelona?
- The Entertainment Rundown is back again…let’s briefly talk about The Penguin and Salem’s Lot.
FC Barcelona really wants Manchester City star Erling Haaland, but might not be able to reel him in next summer. However, a move in two-to-three years could be possible:
Man City’s Erling #Haaland is FC Barcelona’s dream transfer, confirmed ✔️
However, we’ve been told that president Joan Laporta is currently not actively pushing for a move.
A transfer to #Barca next summer is unrealistic at the moment, and the 24y/o striker is not… pic.twitter.com/jzxteIq1Li
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) October 18, 2024
Man City’s Erling #Haaland is FC Barcelona’s dream transfer, confirmed ✔️
However, we’ve been told that president Joan Laporta is currently not actively pushing for a move.
A transfer to #Barca next summer is unrealistic at the moment, and the 24y/o striker is not pursuing a move either.
If anything, a Haaland transfer to Barcelona would be possible in the next 2-3 years.
Man…this would put a big dent into #Project2026 if it eventually happens. Until then, though, we can hope to “stop the steal” and push Bayern Munich to get into the bidding for the Norwegian Nightmare.
Anyway, this has to be the worst case of déjà vu ever for Robert Lewandowski — this same scenario happened to him at Bayern Munich.
Paris Saint-Germain would love to bring in Chelsea FC attacker Christopher Nkunku, but the London club is not keen on letting him go:
Christopher Nkunku could push for an exit from Chelsea next summer if he can’t break into head coach Enzo Maresca’s starting lineup, Football Insider reports.
The forward has been linked with a move back to his native France, with former club Paris Saint-Germain said to be interested. Nkunku has played second fiddle so far this season to Nicolas Jackson, who has been the first-choice striker under Maresca in the Premier League.
Chelsea aren’t open to moving the player on, having signed the 26-year-old from RB Leipzig in 2023. The story says that Nkunku could take matters into his own hands next year as he is “unhappy.”.
Nkunku has recently returned from international duty with France, where he scored his first goal for Les Bleus.
Bayern Munich is back in action and we are thrilled about getting to see the squad lace up their boots to take on a very tough VfB Stuttgart side in the Bundesliga this weekend.
There is a lot to talk about, so let’s get down to discussing why this match is so intriguing:
- Why VfB Stuttgart is a challenge for Bayern Munich, but still has a way to go to get back to where it was last season.
- A look at where each team is in the table and the recent form of each squad.
- A look at the rosters and injuries for VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
According to Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk in his work for CaughtOffside, Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané might be hesitant to take a pay cut — which could make him consider a transfer to a club willing to meet his salary demands:
Talks between Leroy Sané and Bayern have been less intense as he was out injured. Sané would like to stay but Bayern have to offer him a contract that he’s willing to accept. He’s on €20m a year. If they don’t make him such a good offer as their last one, he will be open to hearing proposals from other clubs. Newcastle United are interested but they’re not, at the moment, a club which is interesting for him.
Borussia Dortmund is expected to get some competition from Liverpool in his attempt to sign Red Star Belgrade phenom Andrija Maksimović:
Borussia Dortmund have cultivated a reputation for developing some of the globe’s elite footballing stars. The likes of Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland can credit the Bundesliga outfit with giving them the platform (and spotlight) to perform and eventually attract big-money moves across Europe.
It’s unsurprising, then, that some competing outfits have looked to intervene in the assembly line and snap up young talents in BVB’s eye-line. Red Star Belgrade’s Andrija Maksimović, 17, may very well be the source of some potential conflict between Liverpool and Dortmund.
Christian Falk now reports that the Merseysiders ‘are interested’ and potentially closer to a move by comparison.
You’d have to expect Dortmund could rapidly pivot to get into position, of course, if they truly consider the 17-year-old ‘one of the next big jewels in football’.
“Dortmund see Andrija Maksimović, 17, as one of the next big jewels in football – like they saw in Jamie Gittens for instance. But it’s not so concrete at the moment that they’re planning on buying him,” the German reporter told CaughtOffside.
“Liverpool and other clubs who are interested are perhaps closer. In Dortmund, they are discussing the name but it’s not so hot at the moment, so not the next one they’re going to buy.
“We’ll see how close the English clubs will get to this deal, but Dortmund are not at the starting line at the moment.”
What an international break. With even more injuries adding up since the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Germans still found a way to win. Undav was missed up top but newcomer Jamie Leweling silenced all the doubters by stunning the Netherlands with a remarkable strike.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
- The lineup that Julian Nagelsmann picked, and the absence the injuries have left in this squad
- Tim Kleindienst didn’t do enough to earn a return
- Why Julian Nagelsmann is a genius
- The solution for Germany’s goalkeeper situation
- Looking back at squandered opportunities in recent tournaments and why the next World Cup might be looking good for Germany
- Jamie Leweling earned the #7 after a man of the match performance
