The rumors swirling of late have all focused on Florian Wirtz extending his contract with Bayer Leverkusen in 2025 before eventually seeing Bayern Munich exercise his release clause in 2026.
However, one journalist says that Bayern Munich will sack that plan just go all-out to get Wirtz this summer:
Bayern Munich are working to try to sign Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz in the summer transfer window, according to Nicolo Schira. This comes after the Bavarians struggled to a goalless draw against Die Werkself, in which the 21-year-old had plenty of bright moments but sent two late attempts wide.
With Bayern Munich’s attack in desperate need of some new blood…let’s do this.
What if Bayern Munich cannot get Florian Wirtz, though? Well, one report has the Bavarians kicking the tires on Manchester City attacker Phil Foden, who could be out of favor (if you believe this report):
Pep Guardiola has approved a departure from Manchester City for Phil Foden. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are both exploring moves for the England international, who is valued at £124.8m.
Matchday 22 proved to be the most decisive yet in the title race and relegation battle.
In this episode of The Bundesliga Rundown, we discuss:
- Did Bayern Munich play for a draw against Bayer Leverkusen?
- How has Vincent Kompany fared in his first season in charge of the Rekordmeister?
- Who is better—Florian Wirtz or Jamal Musiala?
- Eintracht Frankfurt and life without Omar Marmoush.
- … and much more!
Lothar Matthäus was stunned by how he saw Bayern Munich play against Bayer Leverkusen.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life from a Bayern Munich team. They didn’t have a single chance to score,” Matthäus said. “But despite that, they will be very satisfied because they got the result they came for. Bayer Leverkusen had previously scored plenty of goals from the positions they got into, but they had no luck out there.
“But having said that – that’s the result that will win Bayern the title. Bayern Munich ‘won’ 0-0. And that’s the end of the Bundesliga race.”
It is becoming increasingly likely that Jamie Gittens is going to that raging dumpster fire Borussia Dortmund and return to England. Chelsea FC, Arsenal FC, and Tottenham Hotspur are said to be very interested in Gittens, who was rumored to be on Bayern Munich’s radar as well:
Three Premier League teams are at the front of the queue for Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens, according to Sport. Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham are all keen on the 20-year-old, who could be available for around €80 million, while Barcelona have reportedly dropped out of the race because of their fraught financial situation. Gittens has contributed to 14 goals in 32 matches across all competitions this season.
Bayern Munich leads Celtic FC 2-1 on aggregate heading into leg two, which will be played at the Allianz Arena.
While not dominant in Scotland, Bayern Munich was in firm control of the match until melting down in the final 20 minutes. Surely, Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany realizes that his team must be on-point and cannot afford a let down. The coach will be counted upon to lead this group into the next round of the competition. Let’s take a look at what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:
- A look back at the first leg of the tie.
- A look at the injury situations for both team.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
Real Madrid really could be open to the idea of selling Vinicius Junior:
Real Madrid are ready to cash in on the interest in Vinicius Junior from Saudi Arabia and plan to replace him with Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres, who is the subject of a £75m approach from Manchester United.
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane recently talked through who some of his role models were as a young player.
“At the very beginning, it was Teddy Sheringham who had a very good sense of the game. We could add Ruud van Nistelrooy or Jermaine Defoe who was the Spurs scorer when I was in the youth team. And then, of course, Ronaldo the Brazilian. Generally speaking, I really like strikers who have the ability to do a lot of things with the ball outside the penalty box, the ability to participate in the game, to create. That has always inspired me. It probably showed me the way to become the striker I am today,” said Kane.
Bayern Munich earned a point during its trip to BayArena, but doubt and frustration with the squad’s recent performances have some fans feeling uneasy.
This is still a very good team (let’s not forget!), but exactly how good is a massive question these days. Let’s talk about all of that and more on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show! This is what we have on tap:
- The aftermath of Bayern Munich’s 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen — the good (there was some, believe it or not) and the bad.
- Joshua Kimmich did not do enough against Die Werkself. Is he wearing down — and has Vincent Kompany fallen into the trap of relying on certain players too much?
- Is it now time to start having some doubt about Kompany? Yes, yes it is.
- Jamal Musiala’s signing went official — and he has the rumored release clause in hand. Let’s discuss it all.
Bayern Munich winter transfer window signee Tom Bischof was named to kicker’s Bundesliga Team of the Week for his performance in a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen (kid just guaranteed himself a spot as Markopolo’s favorite player):
These were pertinent stats from Bischof’s showing:
- 90 minutes played
- 1 goal
- 69 touches
- 5 key passes
- 1 big chance created
- 3/6 accurate crosses
- 4 clearances
- 3 interceptions
- 4 tackles
- 8.7/10 rating
For WhoScored.com, Bayern Munich center-backs Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae joined Bischoff on the squad:
FC Barcelona Frenkie de Jong might not want to transfer and could see out his deal, which runs through 2026:
Frenkie de Jong wants to stay at Barcelona with his contract running until 2026, with the midfielder seeing a growing sporting project he wants to be a part of. Even so, negotiations about a new deal will only take place in March or April so that the team’s position and the 27-year-old’s performances can be monitored.
Bayern Munich came away with a performance they would like to forget quickly in a 0-0 draw against Leverkusen. The Bayern performance left far more questions than answers; did Vincent Kompany want to play this way by design? However, Bayern maintained their eight point gap at the top and the Bundesliga title race seems all but decided:
- The lineups of both sides and what they looked like on the pitch.
- Some mouthwatering combinations across the pitch from Bayer Leverkusen.
- What was Leverkusen missing today?
- Did Bayern mean to play this way?
- What does this performance say about Bayern’s future opponents?
- Has Bayern already won the Bundesliga?
Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund is drawing interest from Leeds United:
Leeds United are prepared to bid to sign Man Utd striker Rasmus Højlund this summer if they are promoted to the Premier League. Juventus and West Ham United are also keen on the Dane, who could be sold for as little as £40m.
Arsenal FC has lofty plans for the summer transfer window:
Arsenal are planning for a summer of change, according to the Sunday Mirror, with the London club focusing their efforts on signing either Alexander Isak or Benjamin Sesko, while Jorginho and Thomas Partey will lead the departures. Arsenal made a move for 21-year-old Sesko last summer but he decided to stay at RB Leipzig, and the Bundesliga club made it clear he was unavailable in January. Isak, 25, remains a trickier target given the size of the financial package required to lure him away from Newcastle United. The Gunners are also keen to continue their pursuit of Martín Zubimendi, 26, from Real Sociedad. Partey, 31, and Jorginho, 33, are set to leave as free agents, with other players set to follow as boss Mikel Arteta plans a squad refresh.
Bayern Munich is in the midst of an insane stretch of games where they will be tested thoroughly.
February is a make-or-break month in every way for the Bavarians, who have passed each test so far. Treacherous terrain awaits the Bundesliga leaders, but aside of that, there is plenty to talk about, so let’s get to it. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- Florian Wirtz will have a lot of eyes on him this weekend. Where do things stand with Bayern Munich? Does the club have any hope of getting him this summer?
- Why is Vincent Kompany reluctant to use Eric Dier and Josip Stanišić?
- Per a report, Paul Wanner laid down his expectations for next season. Is this a bad sign for Bayern Munich?
