Daily Schmankerl: Arsenal’s scoping Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané among others; Manchester United out to ruin another striker’s career; Mats Hummels becoming a legend in Italy, too?; Florian Wirtz edges Jamal Musiala for award; and MORE!

Arsenal FC has a lengthy wish list for transfers, which includes Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané as one of the headliners.

Joining the Germany international on Arsenal’s target sheet are RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, Wolverhampton’s Matheus Cunha, Real Madrid’s Arda Güler, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz:

Arsenal have compiled an eight-player shortlist amid plans to make a statement signing, according to the Daily Mail. The Gunners are reportedly exploring the market for a No. 9 striker, and they are considering RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, 21, and 25-year-old Wolves star Matheus Cunha as potential options. Manager Mikel Arteta is also keen to reinforce his squad after the injury sustained by Bukayo Saka, and it is believed that he could also look to land a wide forward, with Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané (28), Real Madrid’s Arda Güler (19), and Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, 21, all on the club’s radar.

Sané’s future in Bavaria is in doubt and Arsenal would represent a fresh start for the 28-year-old, who might have to take a massive pay cut just to stay with Bayern Munich — while also tearing up the pitch in the second half of the season.

Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz edged Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala as Sofascore’s U-21 Player of the Year for Europe’s Top 5 League:

Bayern Munich is officially back in action as training kicked off on Thursday. There is much to talk about with that, but also even more to discuss now that the January transfer window is open.

Let’s get right to it! This is what we have on tap for the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:

• Bayern Munich is back in training, so let’s talk about who is in and who is still out.
• Frans Krätzig has returned from VfB Stuttgart, but could go right back out on loan. Who else could join him?
• Listener Q&A involving predictions for Bayern Munich’s free agents, plus a question on the wing situation — and who might be a good buy for the Bavarians.
• A quick Entertainment Rundown — yup, we watched the second season of Squid Game. We won’t spoil anything, but season two lived up to the expectations.

It was not too long ago that we saw Mats Hummels bandied about in the transfer rumors, but it appears the former Bayern Munich star has seen his standing at the club improve:

Why is Manchester United on a mission to ruin the career of Sporting CP star Victor Gyökeres? Ruben Amorim connection aside, the Red Devils cannot keep doing this:

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has informed the club’s hierarchy that he wants to sign Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyökeres in this transfer window, according to the Daily Star. An offer in the region of £80 million would be required to sign the 26-year-old from Amorim’s former club, which would reportedly activate the release clause in his contract. The Red Devils are now expected to “step up” their pursuit of the Sweden international, and are looking to move on both Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee to make way for him.

The Winterpause allows us some time to reflect on the good, the bad, and the ugly from the first half of the season at Bayern Munich.

In this three-part series for Bavarian Podcast Works, we will breakdown each position group — Attack, Midfield, Defense — discuss each player and provide rating for how we feel they have played so far this season.

Chuck and Samrin break down the defensive group. Here is some of what the duo discussed on the show:

• A breakdown of the vast list of players, who we could not rate because we did not see enough of them.
• A look at why Manuel Neuer might be a lot more maligned than he deserves — and why Daniel Peretz needs to show more if he wants to be “The Next One.”
• Alphonso Davies has been a lot better, but is he in the midst of a “contract year” or is this the real Davies awakened from a three-year slumber?
• The best and the worst of Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae.
• Ratings on all of the players.

Real Madrid seems to be very interested in Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold:

Real Madrid would be willing to pay Liverpool a transfer fee of up to €15 million to sign Trent Alexander-Arnold in January, rather than on a free transfer in the summer, Diario AS reported on Thursday. ESPN reported earlier this week that Madrid had had an initial approach for the England international rebuffed by the Premier League leaders. According to AS, Madrid are willing to “make an effort” to bring in Alexander-Arnold this month — with first-choice right-back Dani Carvajal out for the season — but “not at any price,” and if Liverpool aren’t tempted to do a cut-price deal, Madrid are willing to wait until the summer.

Paris Saint-Germain is willing to send Randal Kolo Muani on loan…they just want whoever takes him to pick up the full tab:

Paris Saint-Germain will let striker Randal Kolo Muani leave on loan only if his €8m-per-year salary is covered in full.

Bayern Munich is getting some much needed rest and relaxation, but Bavarian Podcast Works is still embracing the grind.

Our latest Bavarian Podcast Works show tackles some of the hottest topics at the moment, so let’s hop right into it. This is what we have on tap:

• The end could be near for the Alphonso Davies transfer saga. Will he re-up with Bayern Munich or will he sign with Real Madrid?
• A listener Q&A segment that harkened back to 2012 and a Robert Lewandowski injury, while also touching on a potential Bayern Munich acquisition of Tom Bischof, and some quality Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz discussion.
• A look at those rumors linking Bayern Munich to Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani and Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo.