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Bayern Munich Transfer News and Rumors

Transfer news and rumors

Midweek Warm-up: Bayern Munich’s Leroy Sané is at precipice of an enormous crossroads as Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and FC Barcelona linger; Non-traditional holiday songs; The Entertainment Rundown; & MORE!

Happy holidays from BFW!

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When the Winterpause ends, Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané will be in the most crucial stretch of his career.

The Germany international wants to stay at Bayern Munich, but the club might be having doubts about reinvesting a massive salary into a player who has not always lived up the lofty expectations that have been placed on him.

Sané has picked up his play of late with two goals in his last two games, but it was not a banner first half for the 28-year-old. Injured to start the campaign, Sané then could not consistently unseat newcomers Michael Olise from the starting spot at right wing.

In the last two games, though, Sané has featured on the left side, where he has looked more comfortable. It should be noted, however, that the time at left wing was forced by injuries to both Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman.

With his contract ending after this season — and a strong desire to continue on with the club — Sané will have to produce more than he has so far this season. Sané has five goals and one assist in 19 games across all competitions, but is making €15 million per season according to Capology.

As of now, a raise seems out of the question and Sané — at least publicly — appears to be open to accepting a pay cut, which could help his case. If, however, Bayern Munich opts to not bring Sané back, he still has a big reputation in Europe.

FC Barcelona and Sané’s old boss Hansi Flick are reportedly interested, but Sport (as captured by the Manchester Evening News) says that several other big clubs would want Sané — Chelsea FC, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur:

Spanish newspaper SPORT report that Premier League trio - Chelsea, United and Tottenham are interested in Sane’s services. Barcelona are also said to be monitoring his situation, having previously been offered to the Spanish giants.

Two things are clear:

If Sané wants to stay with Bayern Munich, he will have to be better and produce more.

If Bayern Munich opts to let Sané go, he will have no shortage of quality suitors.

As Little Carmine (the master of malapropisms) from The Sopranos would say, Sané “is at the precipice of an enormous crossroads.”

How will this play out?

Poll

Will Leroy Sané be back with Bayern MUnich in 2025/26?

Yes - he will sign a new deal.

No - he is outta here.

It is too close to call at the moment.

I have no idea.

Bayern Munich needs to refresh the wing position, this is one way to help do it.

Yes - he will sign a new deal.

(19 votes)

No - he is outta here.

(8 votes)

It is too close to call at the moment.

(11 votes)

I have no idea.

(7 votes)

Bayern Munich needs to refresh the wing position, this is one way to help do it.

(11 votes)

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 7, Episode 22

Here we go...it is time for the Winterpause and things are looking good for Bayern Munich. After downing RB Leipzig 5-1, the Bavarians seem in control of the Bundesliga at the moment, but it will not be easy to complete the job of securing the league crown.

Given everything that has happened over the past six months, there is a lot to talk about, so let’s get to it. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works Show:

Bayern Munich finished off the first half of the season on a strong note, but Bayer Leverkusen’s 5-1 win over SC Freiburg let the world know that the reigning champs are not done just yet. Are we set up for an epic battle for the Bundesliga crown?

Bayern Munich’s biggest surprises of the first half.

Bayern Munich’s biggest disappointments of the first half.

Where Bayern Munich can be better in the second half of the season.

Can Bayern Munich win the Champions League as currently set up?

Entertainment Rundown

Joker: Folie à Deux

Man...what a disappointment. Let’s get this going bullet-style:

Everything from where it picked up, to the tone, to way it was shot was perfect for a sequel, but what caused Todd Phillips to veer so badly off the rails is beyond me.

Every musical scene was a time-wasting pile of garbage. I can appreciate that there was probably some good musical value that is escaping me, but it was wholly unneeded.

Having Arthur Fleck go from insane and brazen to all of a sudden self-aware because he (might have) been gang raped by prison guards (depending on what you want to believe that scene was all about) was an odd choice. The trauma did not enrage him or make him more off-kilter, it sobered him up. Which seemed completely out of place for Fleck.

Even though the movie had already went in the toilet, the car bomb scene gave it one last chance to save itself. It could have culminated with a giant swerve where Joker was just setting everyone up. Nope...all of a sudden, he is not conniving or evil, but simply mentally immature, incompetent, and naive. It was a total middle finger to the audience, who invested time and money into the movie and the character.

The first Joker was tremendous and this one was, well, terrible. What Phillips was trying to prove remains open, but whatever it was it failed and it made for a terrible movie — despite having all the elements to be successful once again.

Overall, I cannot believe any studio gave this the green-light when it was written to take away everything that made the first movie brilliant (a true look at an origin story). What garbage. The only reason that it gets any rating at all is because the actors and others working on it did their jobs with aplomb, but the writing was a horrific trainwreck of epic proportions...which is really sad.

Rating: 3.00/10.00

The 12 Non-Traditional Christmas/Holiday Songs on My Playlist

Here is a little holiday tradition we have here at the Weekend/Midweek Warm-up: There are many, many great Christmas songs that would not be labelled as “traditional” and I could probably write 50,000 words on all of them, so I just decided to feature this list to 12 of those on my iTunes playlist (in no particular order):

Did you expect anything else?

Come on...The Kinks lambasting Christmas is terrific.

I am generally not a “country music” guy, but I am all about a drunk Christmas. I have plenty of country music-loving friends, but I just haven’t been able to catch that vibe. Still, these guys reference Rumple Minze (soooooo bad) and any song that can work that in automatically wins me over.

Just a classic...

Go ahead and roast me...I like the song.

Just awesome...

It’s definitely more “Christmas-y” than “The Stroke”, eh?

This one has a little more meaning given the passing of Shane MacGowan in 2023.

A hard take on an old classic.

Doing a Christmas song in the only way that Blink-182 could.

A rock-n-roll classic.

Chrissie Hynde’s voice in this one is something, eh?

Let’s add some others for everyone’s enjoyment. Most of them were submitted by one of you over the years:

Weird Al Yankovic: “The Night Santa Went Crazy”

Adam Sandler: “Chanukah Song”

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: “Little Drummer Boy”

Billy Idol: “Yellin At The Christmas Tree”

Dent May: “I’ll be Stoned for Christmas”

The Darkness: “Christmas Time”

Mistletoe Conspiracy: “Ugly Sweater”

Lou Monte: “Dominick the Donkey”

Bob & Doug: “12 Days of Christmas”

Cheech & Chong: “Santa Claus and his Old Lady”

The Waitresses: “Christmas Wrapping”

Gwen Stefani: “Under the Christmas Lights”

Just like previous years, drop me your non-traditional songs in the comments. I had a blast checking them out last year.

Prediction Records

Last Week Bundesliga: 4-5 (Through Matchday 15)

Overall Bundesliga: 64-71

UEFA Nations League: 81-66

Champions League: 60-48 (Through Matchday 6)

DFB-Pokal: 40-16 (Through Round of 16)

Total: 245-201

Perfect Picks: 41 (when the score and winner is predicted exactly)

Speaking to ESPN Brasil, Manchester City goalkeeper Éderson admitted that Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane was the toughest he’s ever faced. The two often butted heads when City faced Tottenham Hotspur in the league.

“Man, I’ve faced a few strikers, especially in the Premier League,” said the Brazilian. “But I think the most difficult one, the one I’ve seen with the most quality, is Harry Kane.”

“He has an absurd quality, both inside the box and outside, when he comes out to receive play, he has a lot of quality. So, from my point of view, he was one of the best strikers I’ve ever faced.”

Spurs had a tendency to be a bogey team for City in the latter part of Kane’s tenure at the club, kind of like Gladbach is to Bayern Munich today. City rarely lose in the Premier League, but they often lost to Tottenham, and Kane was a big part of that. Surely, Éderson is glad that Kane is in Germany now, though it won’t help him if the two teams meet in the Champions League this season.

Looking for more thoughts and analysis from Germany’s 1-0 victory over the Netherlands? Awesome, then we have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show where our Jack Lauschway breaks down the match. Jack gives you all the analysis you need from the game, along with where the German national team might be headed. You can get the podcast on Patreon, Spotify, and below:

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Bayern Munich: Friendlies

Podcasts

Bayern Munich Opinion

Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show: Bayern Munich 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Friendly)

Bayern Munich did it again...

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Bayern Munich made its way over to England for a friendly with Tottenham Hotspur to fulfill an obligation on the Harry Kane transfer deal.

Mission accomplished.

Not only did Bayern Munich fulfill that part of the Kane deal, but it walked away with a 3-2 victory as well. There was much to discuss following the match, so let’s get to it:

A look at Vincent Kompany’s starting XI.

A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.

Serge Gnabry looks like a man on a mission.

Finally,, it was cool to see Harry Kane get a nice ovation from Spurs fans.

Bayern Munich’s first half press was an absolute game-changer, but it fell off a cliff in the second half after Kompany used subs.

Mathys Tel needs more playing time.

The backline could end up being a problem — Eric Dier might be the best of the three-headed monster.

Be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @bfwinnn, @IredahlMarcus, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.

In This Stream

Bayern Munich’s 2024 Preseason Campaign: All updates

Match Awards from Bayern Munich’s (almost) impressive 3-2 win over Tottenham

Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show: Bayern Munich 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Friendly)

Three observations from Bayern Munich’s 3-2 win over Tottenham

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It’s not every year that two teams face each other twice in preseason, but this is a special occasion. Bayern Munich agreed to a friendly as part of the mammoth Harry Kane deal last summer, where the proceeds would go to Spurs. Then, to add a little bit more spice to the occasion, Eric Dier made the move from London to Munich last winter.

Both players will be honored by Tottenham ahead of the game. Then, Ange Postecoglou and Vincent Kompany’s teams will face each other for the second time in a week. The game in South Korea was pretty decisively dominated by Bayern, so Spurs will be looking to return the favor on their home turf.

While the squad isn’t 100% complete yet, this will be our first time seeing Vincent Kompany with the likes of Harry Kane, Alphonso Davies, and Matthijs de Ligt, in addition to the players we already saw line up in South Korea. This will be Bayern’s final preseason friendly against top tier opposition before the season starts, so it’ll be a key litmus test for the coach’s ideas going forward.

While you’re waiting for the game, why not check out our Weekend Warm-up podcast? Listen to it below or on Spotify.

Match Info

Location: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, England

Time: 5:30 pm local time, 12:30 pm EST

TV/streaming: Find Your Country

Tips for commenting:

If you’re a new member, feel free to introduce yourself! We’re mostly very friendly! Also, we’re from all parts of the world so don’t feel shy if you’re from a country that doesn’t seem represented on the blog.

Use the on-screen “Refresh comments” button to periodically load new comments.

Keep the sorting to “newest” to easily follow the conversation. It puts the newest comments at the top.

Here at BFW we celebrate every goal like they do in the stadium: with a chant. The goal chants are for everyone to participate in! Even if you’re lagging behind the others, keep replying to the most recent call of the player’s name. Even if you missed the first call, just start from the second, and so on.

While swearing is allowed within reason, please be polite to your fellow posters and avoid gratuitous obscenities. Racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language is not allowed whatsoever.

Check out our beginners thread if you have any more questions. That’s about it. Auf geht’s!

Bayern Munich has their penultimate friendly of their preseason schedule in North London against Tottenham Hotspur. After that, only one last friendly against WSG Tirol stands in front of the start of the competitive season for Vincent Kompany, which comes in the form of a first round DFB-Pokal clash at SSV Ulm. Just one week after the Ulm trip, Bayern opens up their 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign at VfL Wolfsburg.

Aside from players that are still working their way back from injury problems and doing their personalized rehabilitation a training programs, Kompany now has all of his international stars back after their extended holidays. The latest returnees to Sabener Straße were Harry Kane and Alphonso Davies, both of whom went very far with their respective nations in EURO 2024 and Copa America 2024.

It is also expected that Kane will be in the squad to face Tottenham in what will be a non-competitive homecoming for the England skipper as he preps for the start of the upcoming season on familiar territory, seeing some old faces from season’s past.

As confirmed by Abendzeitung’s Maximilian Koch (via @iMiaSanMia), all of the proceeds from the friendly at Tottenham Stadium in North London will go to the Premier League club. The friendly, much like the one that was played in Seoul during Bayern’s brief Audi Summer Tour of South Korea, was a part of the deal between Bayern and Tottenham when they signed Kane towards the end of the transfer window last summer.

At the time, Bayern had, at face value, paid Tottenham €95 million for the transfer of Kane, but the revenue generated from the pair of summer friendlies combined with add-ons and bonuses really took it upwards of €100 million. As SB Nation’s main site for Tottenham Cartilage Free Captain had written last summer; “Tottenham reportedly make an average of just under £3m per home match, which as of 2022 was the fourth highest in the league. Those are league ticket prices, and you’d think that a preseason friendly would likely have slightly smaller gate revenue due to reduced ticket prices, and that’s assuming that the matches would take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and not in Munich. But even taking the medium gate revenue numbers, Spurs would actually come out slightly north of €100m with the two friendlies included.”

In context, the estimation from Cartilage Free Captain came right after a mention of former Bayern club president Uli Hoeneß boasting about how the Rekordmeister had only spent €95 million to sign Kane.

The Bayern Munich that fans so desperately missed made a small return in a friendly against Tottenham Hotspur.

Bayern came out of the door swinging and grabbed an early lead through Gabriel Vidović thanks to a poorly deflected Serge Gnabry shot. Bayern added another thanks to Leon Goretzka in the second half, but an absolute screamer from the Premier League side’s Pedro Porro saw Bayern’s lead but back to a single goal. Here are some observations from a truly beautiful game.

Kompany got everything right tonight

After the disaster-class at Düren, the pressure was on for Kompany to deliver in front of international fans and give us a look into what next season should look like, He did exactly that and more, beating a Tottenham team who had been in Korea for longer and were better acclimated to the humid weather having already played a match there,

The game was typical Kompany. The press was perfect — aggressive enough to keep the ball yet smart enough to cover the pitch, switching play across the pitch, total control in midfield, synchronized movements to constrict Tottenham’s possession. But what really made it a trademark Kompany set-up was Sacha Boey’s role — who formed a great partnership with Gnabry, even overlapping with him at times. Boey was key to Bayern’s buildup in the middle of the pitch and did well covering at the back while doing exactly what you’d expect from a center-back under Kompany.

Mathys Tel could be a unique superstar

Mathys Tel played an incredible game tonight, acting both as an outlet to score and create. Some of Tel’s curved passes in the crowded Tottenham box were truly stunning to watch. Tel’s performance tonight was the greatest audition for his role as a direct backup to Kane, and why he deserves many more minutes in the coming season — not only does he possess a thunderous shot, but when in his flow, he is an outstanding passer just around and inside the box. He possesses a unique threat that Bayern has backed going forward for years and one that Bayern will certainly need in the future. I guess there will be a lot for him to talk about in his next installment of “Tel Your Story.”

What Harry Kane could bring to this set-up

Now onto Harry Kane. Kompany showed that his style relies on players who are not afraid to make dangerous, connecting forward passes from difficult angles in and outside the final third. Kane, when he is able to drop deep and get the space he needs to function, is a master at making exactly those passes as we saw multiple times last season. Moreover, he adds a goalscoring threat rivaled only by a few, and Bayern could’ve used it tonight. Kane will thrive in such a set-up, and it remains to be season whether or not Kompany has the tactical nuance to use him to the fullest.

Midfield combinations

Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović formed a perfect midfield duo tonight. Kimmich was able to move forward and create chances — something he has always done best, coupled with Pavlović doing just as well as a deep-lying playmaker. It is another argument for Kimmich to extend (given he is ready to play such a role, occasionally be benched, and take a small pay cut).

The two of them had the midfield on lockdown throughout the first half and Kimmich in particular was making the sort of passes into the box he would typically make as a full-back. Kompany allowed for fluidity across the right flank and the players did the set-up well.

When Goretzka and Laimer came on, however, Bayern seemed to begin to lose control. Laimer wasn't able to press as well as he should've and Goretzka, while he made a good tackle or two, seemed to be preoccupied with something that didn't pertain to his role in midfield. His goal obviously was a good saving grace, but the duo allowed the game to open up more and gave Tottenham a lot more chances. Bayern was found having to make more recovery runs and weren't able to make passes of the quality the pivot in the first half did.

Palhinha had a good debut and did his job as needed. It will be exciting to see how he performs in a pivot or midfield three with Kimmich and Pavlović.

Zaragoza disappoints yet again

Another very disappointing game from Bryan Zaragoza calls for the winger to be loaned out for the upcoming season because when allowed to prove himself, he faltered time and time again — this time missing easy chances and losing the ball easily in advantageous positions. He isn't ready to play for Bayern yet, and there is no need to inhibit his development as a player. A loan is the clear way to go.

Bayern Munich came out of the gates flying against Tottenham Hotspur during the friendly between the two teams in South Korea.

In what was — by far — Bayern Munich’s best half of play during this preseason, the team was electric, played with high energy, and generally made life hell for Tottenham. Using an early goal from Gabriel Vidović, Bayern Munich never really relented until late in the match to ultimately capture a 2-1 victory.

Needless to say, it was an impressive showing, so let’s not delay the excitement and get talking. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show:

A look at the starting XI.

A rundown of the scoring and subs.

Some general thoughts on just how good — and FUN — Bayern Munich looked.

A pat on the back for Vincent Kompany.

If Bayern Munich can get this version of Serge Gnabry, there is no reason to keep trying to sell him.

Did any concerns arise? Well, yeah, but just a few.

One hour until kickoff: We have lineups! It looks like a standard 4-2-3-1 from Vincent Kompany, with Mathys Tel and Thomas Müller starting up top for Bayern Munich. You have Serge Gnabry and Gabriel Vidović on the wings, Aleksander Pavlović and Joshua Kimmich are in midfield, while the back line consists of Sacha Boey, Josip Stanišić, Kim Min-jae, and Raphael Guerreiro.

Only one question: Where’s Jamal Musiala?

Bayern Munich are in Seoul, South Korea, to play a preseason game vs a proper 1st division European team for the first time this summer. Fans are keen to see what Vincent Kompany can do now that most of the internationals — including key stars like Manuel Neuer, Jamal Musiala, and Thomas Müller — are back and available for selection.

Still, this is far from a 100% fit squad, and the French and English players are still missing, so no Harry Kane. The aim of this friendly will be to test out the tactics and see what works and what doesn’t. Surely no one will freak out if the result doesn’t go as planned, right?

While you’re waiting for the game, why not check out our Weekend Warm-up podcast? Listen to it below or on Spotify.

Match Info

Location: Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea.

Time: 7am EST

Tips for commenting:

If you’re a new member, feel free to introduce yourself! We’re mostly very friendly! Also, we’re from all parts of the world so don’t feel shy if you’re from a country that doesn’t seem represented on the blog.

Use the on-screen “Refresh comments” button to periodically load new comments.

Keep the sorting to “newest” to easily follow the conversation. It puts the newest comments at the top.

Here at BFW we celebrate every goal like they do in the stadium: with a chant. The goal chants are for everyone to participate in! Even if you’re lagging behind the others, keep replying to the most recent call of the player’s name. Even if you missed the first call, just start from the second, and so on.

While swearing is allowed within reason, please be polite to your fellow posters and avoid gratuitous obscenities. Racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language is not allowed whatsoever.

Check out our beginners thread if you have any more questions. That’s about it. Auf geht’s!

Bayern Munich head coach VIncent Kompany likes the progress his team has made so far and is eager to see how things go against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

“We want to build up a good fitness level. I want to see the right mentality, also from the players who haven’t been training for as long. Most of the players will be involved tomorrow, but we’ll spread out the game time,” said Kompany (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We’re going to give everything to do better this season. I expect a reaction from everyone, which can already be seen in training. I hope we also see that in the next few games, and above all from the first competitive game in the cup.”

Bayern Munich fans will be watching intently and even though it is just a friendly, many will be sizing up how Bayern Munich looks against another solid club. Tottenham Hotspur will represent a big jump up in competition from Bayern Munich’s previous foes.