Daily Schmankerl: Manchester City sees opening to get Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala; Bayern won’t give up on Florian Wirtz; Liverpool star Mo Salah’s future is open; PSG eyeing Dutch goalkeeper; Omar Marmoush rumors premature?; and MORE!

Citing a lack of progress in contract talks between Bayern Munich and Jamal Musiala, Manchester City might think there is an opening to convince the Germany international to jump ship this summer:

Man City have been given hope over a potential swoop for Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala, sources have told Football Insider. Football Insider revealed on Monday (30 December) that City have no chance of completing a January deal for Musiala after The Times linked him with a move to the Etihad Stadium.

However, his contract talks with Bayern Munich have stalled and that has opened the door to overtures from City in the summer window – who are preparing to move for him.

The English champions are long-term admirers of his talents and will swoop if he doesn’t renew his deal, which is currently set to end in June 2026. Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid are among the other top sides keen on a potential move for the 38-cap Germany international.

But City are planning a mega-money overhaul of their ageing squad and Musiala could prove a cornerstone in that project, which will be overseen by Pep Guardiola and new sporting director Hugo Viana.

If true, this would be a little concerning. However, it seems like talks have likely stalled because Musiala was out of the country for most of the break and also because Bayern Munich has several other key deals to work on.

In addition to all of that, Bayern Munich is also working hard to cement the status of several young players like Mathys Tel (eschewing a loan and staying with the team despite a lack of opportunity) and Nestory Irankunda (sent on loan to Grasshopper Club Zurich).

Clearly, Max Eberl and Christoph Freund are going to be burning the midnight oil and loading up on coffee this month.

Rumors have been swirling around Mo Salah all season. Will he stay? Will he go? No one knows at this point, but it appears that his agent is keeping the Egyptian star’s options open:

Though Mohamed Salah publicly stated he is playing his last season at Liverpool, Foot Mercato reports that the forward’s priority is to stay at Anfield while also listing the most likely alternatives. They state that the 32-year-old’s agents remain in continuous contact with Paris Saint-Germain as they follow the situation closely, and Saudi Arabia remains an option despite no clubs taking concrete steps to sign him yet.

You come here daily. You read the posts. You listen to the podcasts (or at least you should).

Heck, you might even banter with some of BFW staffers in the comments or on social media.

But…do you really know us?

Now, you will get that chance. In a Bavarian Podcast Works Special Edition Series, we are unleashing unveiling “BFW Behind the Scenes.”

In this series you will get to know some of the BFW staffers a little better than you already do. Find out how they got involved with Bayern Munich, Bavarian Football Works, what they like, what they’re into, and what they are expecting from the Bavarians this season.

So settle in for some fun as Chuck Smith hosts “BFW Behind the Scenes” — a fun set of conversations with BFW staffers. We’ve got an entire slate of BFW’ers ready to go. Check out the podcasts and let us know what you think!

In this edition, you can meet RIPLT.

As of now, it looks like that rumored contract extension between Florian Wirtz and Bayer Leverkusen is going to happen, but that will not deter Bayern Munich from attempting to get him in 2026:

Bayern Munich are remaining patient with Florian Wirtz as it seems the attacking midfielder will stay at Bayer Leverkusen one more year to prepare for the 2026 World Cup in familiar surroundings, reports Bild. The club are not interested in his teammate Jonathan Tah, with the centre-back leaning towards a move to Barcelona.

The only issue with the Wirtz deal could be timing. Harry Kane’s contract ends in 2027 and if Bayern Munich is going to get anything for him — or, if Kane decides he wants to return to England (after winning the Bundesliga this season or next) — it could make for a budgetary mess.

Reports dropped on Friday indicating that Manchester City had started to progress in talks for Eintracht Frankfurt attacker Omar Marmoush:

Understand there are currently NO negotiations taking place between Eintracht Frankfurt and Manchester City regarding a transfer of Omar #Marmoush, despite other reports. #MCFC

Eintracht have also not received any offer. Eintracht have also not received any information from Marmoush so far indicating that he wants to transfer in the next days.

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.

While Dani Olmo still is not registered with FC Barcelona, the vultures are circling despite the attacker stating that he does not want to leave Barca. We can add AC Milan to the list of clubs, who want to give him a loan:

AC Milan dream of bringing in Barcelona attacking midfielder Dani Olmo but would only be able to do so on loan with part of his salary being paid by the Blaugrana, which has resulted in them turning to Monza’s Warren Bondo and Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani.

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.

Bayern Munich is not the only club looking at Bright & Hove Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Paris Saint-Germain has interest as well:

Paris Saint-Germain are facing uncertainty over their goalkeeping situation, with Gianluigi Donnarumma’s future increasingly in doubt. While the 25-year-old is contracted until 2026, his inconsistent performances and costly mistakes have raised concerns, leading the club to consider potential alternatives.

A move for a new goalkeeper in January seems unlikely, but the summer transfer window could see PSG pursue a more reliable option to strengthen the position. According to PSG Inside Actus, the club is currently monitoring five potential candidates, including Bart Verbruggen, the standout goalkeeper from Brighton & Hove Albion.

Manchester United may kick off the January transfer window with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen, according to reports from the Mirror and Mail.

Manchester United aren’t the only club interested in Verbruggen, with Bayern Munich also eyeing the goalkeeper as a potential successor to Manuel Neuer. According to Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg, Neuer’s contract with Bayern runs until the end of the 2024-25 season, but talks over a new deal haven’t occurred yet.

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.