Daily Schmankerl: Manchester City eyeing January move for Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich?; Bayern back in on Xavi Simons?; Chelsea scoping Borussia Dortmund stars?; Bayern interested in FC Barcelona star?; Christian Pulisic near extension?; and MORE!

It ain’t so — or there is at least no way Bayern Munich would consider a January sale of Joshua Kimmich without the player already having told the club that he is out in July. Even then, it would seem very, very unlikely.

Either way, let’s humor this one:

Manchester City have added Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich to their January shopping list. The versatile German international, 29, who can operate in midfield or as a wing back, is out of contract at the end of the season. And that means Kimmich could be available for as little as £10million in next month’s window – and a perfect acquisition for the free-falling English champions.

City boss Pep Guardiola has always admired the player, having been the Bayern boss who brought him to Munich from RB Leipzig in 2015. The Spanish coach, as we reported last weekend, has a £200m kitty to blow in the New Year as he attempts to arrest the worst run of his entire managerial career.

You could argue that Kimmich has been Bayern Munich’s most valuable player this season, but while his future is not yet locked down, it does not seem as if the Bavarians are in any position to let go of their top midfielder.

Even if Kimmich told Bayern Munich he was leaving in July (which, again, seems very doubtful), the club would likely not want to let him leave in January with the Bundesliga and Champions League still in play.

Aside of all of that, Bayern Munich is not silly enough to not milk more money than €12 million from Moneybags, Inc. Manchester City.

Bayern Munich has long been rumored to have interest in Paris Saint-Germain loanee Xavi Simons, who is on loan again with RB Leipzig. With the recent news that Florian Wirtz might have re-upped with Bayer Leverkusen, would the Bavarians turn their eyes back over to Simons?

Maybe:

Paris Saint-Germain opted for a short-term solution by loaning Xavi Simons to RB Leipzig for another season. However, a more definitive decision about his future, possibly involving a transfer, is expected next summer.

In September, journalist Christian Falk revealed that Manchester City and Liverpool are closely monitoring Simons’ situation. During the summer, other top clubs, including Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Manchester United, also expressed interest in the talented midfielder.

According to Sport Bild, Leipzig is eager to secure a permanent deal for Simons as early as January. While the player, under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until 2027, has shown little enthusiasm for returning to Paris, Leipzig faces a significant hurdle: PSG’s €80 million asking price, which may be out of reach for the German side.

Moreover, The Athletic recently reported that Arsenal, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Real Madrid are seen as the most probable destinations

Bayern Munich traveled to Mainz 05 for a Bundesliga showdown against a club that has been somewhat of a surprise in Germany this season.

The Bavarians were tired, weary, and lacked focus in a terrible first half that found them down 1-0 at the half, before ultimately succumbing to Mainz in a 2-1 defeat that was extremely frustrating.

Let’s talk about how it all went down and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:

• A look at the starting XI and what it could mean for Laimer and Leon Goretzka.
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• Injuries and a lack of rotation made Vincent Kompany’s men very fatigued and sloppy.
• What else went wrong besides fatigue and sloppiness?
• Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.

Manchester United seems to always be in a state of flux these days and could be looking to continue that trend with an acquisition of Victor Osimhen:

Manchester United are ready to trigger Victor Osimhen’s €75m (£62.1m) release clause to sign the Napoli striker in January.

Chelsea FC has never been shy about eyeing Bundesliga talent. Now, the Premier League club is reportedly taking a look at Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi and Gregor Kobel:

Chelsea are looking at Borussia Dortmund pair Karim Adeyemi and Gregor Kobel, reports Sky Sports Deutschland. Adeyemi is now represented by Ali Barat from Epic Sports, who has a positive relationship with the Blues, and the 22-year-old has been on Chelsea’s radar for some time. Even so, BVB are reportedly not worried about him leaving anytime soon due to his contract running until 2027. Kobel is being considered for the summer as Chelsea aren’t happy with their goalkeeper situation, but the 27-year-old is not thinking of leaving.

Bayern Munich’s first half (for all intents and purposes) is almost over and while the team is wrapping things up on the pitch, there is a lot of work being done in the boardroom.

Let’s chat about what’s going on with the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show. This is what we have on tap:

• Vincent Kompany must figure out a way to rotate better. Bayern Munich has been lucky with players like Joshua Kimmich, Dayot Upamecano, and Kim Min-jae, but are they at-risk?
• Did Joshua Kimmich win the negotiation war with Bayern Munich? If so, what does that mean for Alphonso Davies. Speaking of Davies, there is a wild Real Madrid spin on why things might have soured between the two parties.
• Meanwhile, Leroy Sané could be reading the writing on the wall and is — allegedly — willing to take a pay cut.
• A brief Entertainment Rundown.

FC Barcelona is reportedly looking to sell center-back Ronald Araújo:

Barcelona will look to sell centre-back Ronald Araújo in the summer if they succeed in their pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah.

Bayern Munich needs a third center-back. Bayern Munich had interest in Araújo last season. Could a move be in play?

Could Real Madrid land two Premier League megastars this summer? It seems very unlikely, but let’s check it out anyway:

Real Madrid are seriously considering pursuing both Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min when their contracts expire at the end of the season.

Bayern Munich traveled to Gelsenkirchen to take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and walked away with a convincing 5-1 victory.

Michael Olise scored twice, while Konrad Laimer, Thomas Müller, and Jamal Musiala each had goals in a dominant effort from the Bavarians. Let’s talk about how it all went down and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:

• A look at the starting XI and what it could mean for Laimer and Leon Goretzka.
• A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
• What a resurgent effort from Müller, while Musiala continued his brilliance.
• Bayern Munich’s attack was much better, but still is not clicking on all cylinders.
• Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.

Borussia Dortmund could be looking to offload attacker Donyell Malen:

Everton, Nottingham Forest, Brentford, and Crystal Palace are interested in Borussia Dortmund forward Donyell Malen and an offer of around €30m would be enough to seal a transfer.

Christian Pulisic could be nearing a contract extension with AC Milan: