Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich to miss on Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk; Is Manchester City’s Erling Haaland going to enter ego cauldron at Real Madrid?; Xabi Alonso as City’s next coach?; Manchester United out of Alphonso Davies sweepstakes?; and MORE!

According to Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk in his work for CaughtOffside (that’s a mouthful, eh?), Bayern Munich will not be considering a blockbuster move for Liverpool FC defender Virgil van Dijk.

Who knew there were even rumors of this? Apparently a few folks:

Sorry about Virgil van Dijk. I’m a big fan of him, but he’s too old for Bayern Munich at the moment, as they’re trying to construct a very complex defence with Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae. They need fast players, which is why they sold Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United.

I think Virgil van Dijk doesn’t have this speed and kind of defending for this really high back four. I’m really sorry about this, as I’d love to see him in the Bundesliga, but at this point, I think Bayern Munich would be the only club in the Bundesliga that could afford his wages (and where he’d like to go), so I see no future for him in the German top-flight. He’s a player who could fit perfectly for many clubs in Italy’s Serie A, but the door is closed for him in Germany.

Van Dijk is still a good player, but — under Vincent Kompany — it does appear that Bayern Munich needs to start pointing its interest in other players who might be a better fit for the current playstyle.

One name to keep in mind as a potential fit — though, he likely will not be available — is Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven (formerly of Wolfsburg), who has the physical tools that Kompany seems to prefer in a center-back. Van de Ven would cost a lot and would also have to have the desire to move back to Germany, but finding center-backs, who can aptly play the way that Kompany wants to play might be tough.

Just food for thought…

There are loose rumors that both Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo could leave what looks to be an increasingly difficult situation with Real Madrid.

Why are things “difficult”? Well, mostly because there are — at least — three players (Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, and Vinicius Jr.) all battling for top billing on the squad. As such, rumors are starting to swirl that a few attacking options could leave the club…which has led to speculation about interest in Manchester City’s Erling Haaland:

Real Madrid are willing to offer €200m to sign Erling Haaland from Manchester City, should president Florentino Perez need to replace either Vinicius Junior or Rodrygo.

Adding to the whispers (per Fichajes) is that Vinicius Jr. has — allegedly — rejected a contract extension offer:

Vinicius Jr has rejected Real Madrid’s offer of a new contract, plunging his future at the club into doubt.

Finally, if Vinicius Jr. wants to leave Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea FC, and Paris Saint-Germain would all be interested per Relevo (via 90Min.com):

Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in signing Vinicius Jr but recognise a deal will be expensive.

Haaland would be crazy to enter that fray — with or without Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo. If I had to look into the crystal ball for Haaland, a move to Madrid under any of these conditions would result in him getting the Han Solo treatment from The Empire Strikes Back — frozen right the hell out of the attack.

Bayern Munich thrashed Union Berlin 3-0 in the Bundesliga.

The match was never really close as the Bavarians imposed their will on Union Berlin from the outset of the match. Powered by a staunch defense and a relentless attack, Bayern Munich was able to stamp out any threat from Union Berlin and keep the vaunted defense from the visitors on their heels for the entirety of the match.

Here is what we have on tap for the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:

• A look at the starting XI.
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• Scoring one goal completely deflated Union Berlin.
• Where does Bayern Munich go from here?

While his team is scuffling with the pressure to perform like it did last season, Xabi Alonso’s status in the market has not taken a dip like his team’s record. Manchester City could be eyeing Alonso as its successor to Pep Guardiola:

A cycle as old as time.

Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi looks like a star, draws interest from big clubs, gets hurt, struggles to regain his form, and then the cycle repeats itself. Now, Chelsea and Liverpool are both intrigued by the prospect of Adeyemi moving to England:

Chelsea are hoping to beat Liverpool to the signing of the “next Mohamed Salah,” Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi, according to Football Insider. The Blues are interested in making a move for the 22-year-old as part of their strategy of identifying the best young talent, but they would need to trim their squad first to facilitate a move. Liverpool are also considering Adeyemi as a potential suitor for striker Salah who is yet to renew his contract at Anfield.

Bayern Munich is back and looking powerful, but can it last? A lot of that will depend on how the team continues to come together over the course of this season.

Given that, there are several key issues that could play out in the coming weeks, which could affect some lineup decisions. Let’s talk about all of that and more:

• Jamal Musiala seems more likely to extend his contract than ever. What does this mean for the squad planning process moving forward?
• If Leroy Sané is eventually unhappy at Bayern Munich this season, it looks like he will have the chance to skip town pretty easily.
• Are we witnessing the final months of Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich?
• The Entertainment Rundown.

Paris Saint-Germain is keeping a very close eye on Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold:

Paris Saint-Germain want to hijack Real Madrid’s move for Liverpool full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is out of contract next summer.

Manchester United might be out on trying to convince Alphonso Davies to join:

The 2025 summer transfer window should be a very big one for Real Madrid, as they target multiple big-name signings. Trent Alexander-Arnold is wanted, while another player that they hope to acquire as a free agent is Alphonso Davies, whose Bayern Munich contract expires at the end of the season.

Real Madrid have been on Davies’ tail for some time. They wanted to sign him during the summer, but Bayern’s asking price made that impossible. Instead, they’ve been holding out to sign him for free, although competition has risen in recent months because of his contract situation.

Manchester United have been following Davies, but according to CaughtOffside, the 23-year-old’s contract demands are expected to be too much for the Premier League giants.