Daily Schmankerl: The scenario where Tottenham Hotspur blocks Bayern Munich from Dušan Vlahović; The USMNT vs. Canada locker room brawl goes viral; Inter Milan wants Yann Sommer for short-term fix; Jacket thief wanted Christian Pulisic in MLS; and MORE!

What if…Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur both had the same contingency plan built-in should neither club end up with Harry Kane?

It might seem weird, but there is a slim chance that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy could block Kane from jumping to Bayern Munich this summer — and that Kane becomes intent on leaving regardless next summer.

If that happens, the two club might be scrambling to grab Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović near the transfer deadline:

Tottenham are sounding out Dusan Vlahović as a possible replacement for Harry Kane should the England captain leaves. We are told that the north London side have had a long-standing interest in the Juventus striker and even had plans to bring him in when Manchester City made an approach for Kane last year.

Kane has not given any indication that he wants to sign an extension and so the club may well lose him on a free transfer if he is not sold this window. The England captain has held positive talks with Bayern. He has also been linked with a move to Manchester United but the club need to move on a lot of players before they can recoup the funds to make an offer to him.

Daniel Levy, Spur’s chairman, is known as a tough negotiator but as the window nears its end, the pressure will be on to either make a sale or keep Kane for a last year in the hope of agreeing to a contract with him.

Randal Kolo Muani is reportedly high on the list of Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli still wants roughly a zillion euros for Victor Osimhen, so the remaining options might leave some Bayern Munich fans less than thrilled.

After all of this, could Bayern Munich end up staying within Germany and just grabbing Niclas Füllkrug?

Inter Milan’s interest in Bayern Munich goalkeeper Yann Sommer could be a short-term type arrangement:

Inter want to sign Yann Sommer as a direct Andre Onana replacement & Anatoliy Trubin as more of an investment for the long term. This according to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, via FCInterNews, who report that the Nerazzurri’s strategy is to sign both a first-choice keeper for next season as well as one who can inherit the role in seasons to come.

The departure of captain Samir Handanovic opens the door for Inter to make two goalkeeping signings. The Nerazzurri’s intention is not, however, to simply sign a like-for-like replacement for Onana, and then one for Handanovic.

Inter do not want to bring in the experienced keeper to be the backup option. Rather, they want things the other way around, for now. Inter have identified Sommer as a player capable of being the first-choice keeper for a couple seasons. Therefore, he would effectively “replace” Onana rather than Handanovic.

Sky Sport journalist Florian Plettenberg also checked in information on the rumored “exit clause” in Sommer’s contract — which, as it turns out, is more informal than formal:

Yann Sommer has no release clause in his contract. There’s just a gentlemen’s agreement that he can go when Manuel Neuer returns. Sommer/Bayern talks this week. (Giorgi) Mamardashvili could become an option if Sommer leaves.

While Bayern Munich is expected to have an impactful summer transfer window, this period feels like the calm before the storm.

Konrad Laimer and Raphael Guerreiro are signed, sealed, and delivered, while Kim Min-jae is expected to follow suit quickly (potentially by the time you read this!).

Otherwise, there is A LOT of rumbling, but not much action otherwise for the Bavarians. As it stands, this seems like a good time to take a step back and look at the big picture of what is going on — including the BPW staff earning another award (thanks to all of you!).

Let’s get to it:

• Some thoughts on BPW nailing down another “Best Club Podcast” Award from World Soccer Talk.
• Where things stand on Bayern Munich’s pursuit of Harry Kane — and why there are reasons to feel both optimistic and pessimistic. Plus, the new pecking order of things should Kane opt to stay put in London.
• Addressing the bizarre situations with Noussair Mazraoui, Ryan Gravenberch, Marcel Sabitzer, and Sadio Mane.
• Why the Leon Goretzka situation is likely coming to a head soon enough.

As someone who has been sparring with Canadians around these parts lately, it was refreshing to see the fellas from the USMNT and Canada make football turn into hockey:

It’s unclear what cause the flare up inside the locker room, but Marca had some info what might have preceded that walk into the depths of the arena:

The US national team suffered, but managed to maintain their mental stability and overcame two dramatic moments to beat Canada in a penalty shootout – after a 2-2 draw – to advance to the semi-finals of the 2023 Gold Cup.

But there were incidents after the final whistle, as the USMNT allegedly taunted Canada’s players, leading to a brawl in the locker room. It is not yet known whether CONCACAF will take action and punish the players involved.

If you were looking for Alphonso Davies, he wasn’t there, which is a good thing I suppose.

So, it wasn’t quite the Philadelphia Flyers vs. Ottawa Senators brawl from 2004, but hey, I guess it’s better than this happening in the BFW Offices. If you are looking to fill some time, check out that aforementioned brouhaha. Do yourself a favor and hang in for the full video for some “old time hockey”:

Former Bayern Munich player Landon Donovan (he stole a club jacket!) thinks Christian Pulisic should have played in MLS instead of joining AC Milan:

I get the sentiment, but many of the USMNT players are in Europe now and not much would have been gained by Pulisic moving back to the United States at this point.

Don’t add Diego Simeone to the list of footballers and coaches moving to the Middle East:

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is set to reject an offer to take over Al Ahli, one of the four Saudi Arabian teams financially backed by PIF.

Borussia Dortmund was rumored not to be interested in its former player, Jason Sancho, who has found himself out of favor with Manchester United.

Now, however, there are rumors stating that BVB could look to bring back the 23-year-old attacker:

Borussia Dortmund could launch a bid to re-sign Jadon Sancho from Manchester United, though the player’s preference is to stay put.

It’s been another week of relentless transfer rumors, Bayern Munich are no closer to signing Harry Kane but significantly closer to giving Daniel Levy a stroke. There’s been good news — Kim Min-Jae is all but official — but also bad news, with Manuel Neuer reportedly suffering a setback in his recovery. The fans are still looking forward to incoming transfers but for some reason the club is struggling to finalize sales.

In this episode, INNN and Samrin talk about the following:

• What is going on with the Harry Kane transfer?
• How much does Daniel Levy want to sell him?
• Is Harry Kane the missing piece for Bayern Munich to win the Champions League? If so, what is he worth?
• The unexpected benefits of getting Kane versus someone like Vlahovic or Osimhen.
• The long list of players Bayern have not sold yet — Bouna Sarr, Sadio Mane, Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard, Yann Sommer (?), Marcel Sabitzer, Alex Nubel, and more!
• There’s honestly so many we forgot a few while recording.
• Is Kyle Walker a good option for Bayern?
• Why Thomas Tuchel doesn’t seem to have as much “control” as the media says.
• Selling Noussair Mazraoui would be a mistake, full stop.
• Thomas Tuchel seems like he’s in for a headache at the start of the Bundesliga next season.
• Ryan Gravenberch could leave, but does it matter?
• Manuel Neuer could be out for the start of next season — what should Bayern do?
• Samrin has a theory about Alex Nubel.
• INNN has delusions of grandeur.