Germany vs. Italy…are you ready?
Goretzka rejected United, Inter, Roma (Bild via @iMiaSanMia)
According to a report from Bild (via @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich star Leon Goretzka has rejected inquiries from Manchester United, Inter Milan, and AS Roma in recent months:
Leon Goretzka received offers and inquiries in the past few months. Manchester United wanted him, Roma and Inter showed interest, but Goretzka rejected everything. The player’s wish is to stay in Munich and extend his contract. Goretzka fully identifies with the club and sees his long-term future in Munich. There are now voices at the club saying that if he continues playing like he’s currently doing, Goretzka should stay. Nevertheless, the club still want to sell a midfielder this summer – João Palhinha is a candidate.
Goretzka has certainly changed his standing at Bayern Munich with his performances over the past few months. While this is great news for Goretzka, it could create some chaos in the squad’s midfield during the 2025/26 campaign.
Gunners lead on Nico Williams (Caught Offside)
Bayern Munich might want Nico Williams, but it will have to outduel Arsenal FC (and probably FC Barcelona, too):
Arsenal are understood to be ahead of Bayern Munich in the race to sign Nico Williams this summer. The Gunners are in need of a refresh in their offensive line in light of a 2024/25 campaign characterised by injuries and a gulf in goals between Mikel Arteta’s men and Liverpool.
Arsenal may very well find themselves competing with Bundesliga giants Bayern for Williams signature this summer. The good news, however, as far as the Emirates Stadium-dwelling side is concerned, is that they’ll have a head start over their European rivals.
The Bavarian giants will have to arrange some player sales to facilitate any potential move for the Athletic Bilbao winger.
“It’s not true that Bayern Munich are in the lead for Nico Williams. I think, at the moment, Williams is closer to a move to Arsenal than Bayern Munich, as the Bundesliga club can’t be as concrete as they would like as things currently stand,” Christian Falk informed CaughtOffside in his latest Fact Files column.
“Williams is still very high on the list at Bayern, but Max Eberl, head of sport, has to sell players first. They want to sell Kingsley Coman (linked to Tottenham, Newcastle and Saudi Arabia). If they can manage this, they could take the money and use it to help sign Williams.
“Serge Gnabry is also on the for-sale list, but no club is interested at the moment. So, Bayern have to wait and see if they can make a sale for Coman.”
Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Germany vs. Italy (Bavarian Football Works)
After a massive away win in Italy, Germany now head to Dortmund to host their longstanding rivals Italy. With a slight lead on aggregate, can Julian Nagelsmann hold on to their lead to advance to the Nations League semi-finals?
The former Bayern Munich coach is expected to make a few lineup adjustments for the better in Dortmund, but Italy will surely look to have an answer for all the problems the Germans throw at them on Sunday.
- Re-capping the last match in Italy
- A look at the rosters and injuries for Italy and Germany.
- Why Germany should rotate things.
- A guess at Germany’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
Rummenigge eager for Club World Cup (@iMiaSanMia)
Bayern Munich legend Karl Heinz-Rummenigge is looking forward to seeing the new format of the Club World Cup play out.
“The previous one with seven teams in winter was boring. You used to go there as a Champions League winner and know that you would be returning home with one more trophy in your luggage. Anything that is pre-programmed and not emotional does not reach the fans. I always said to Gianni [Infantino]: ‘We have to change something, the competition is not interesting in this format’ — the fact that FIFA is now introducing the new Club World Cup is like a miracle for me: for the first time, a national team competition, namely the Confederations Cup, has been abandoned in favor of a club competition,” Rummenigge said.
United willing to pay for De Jong (El Nacional via 90Min.com)
According to one report, Manchester United is willing to pay €50 million to FC Barcelona for midfielder Frenkie de Jong (whose status at Barca seems to change from day-to-day):
Manchester United have told Barcelona they are willing to pay €50m (£42m) for long-term target Frenkie de Jong.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show Season 4, Episode 35 (Bavarian Football Works)
The international break afford us the opportunity to take some time and think all things Bayern Munich — and maybe even take a deep dive back into some things from the past.
It was two years ago this week that Bayern Munich sacked Julian Nagelsmann. Let’s talk about the whens, the hows, and the whys of the situation once more and also how things have changed for everyone since that point. This is the full gamut of what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show:
- Reflecting back on March 23rd, 2023 — The day that Bayern Munich fired Nagelsmann. The shock of it all. Why it happened? How that changed the future?
- Catching up on the latest news on some players, who Bayern Munich has been linked to — Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz, RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons, and Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen. Don’t be shocked, though, if Max Eberl goes off the grid on a pursuit or two.
- A listener Q&A segment, including a question on beer, squad planning, and which Bayern Munich jerseys BFW staffers own.
- A brief Entertainment Rundown.
Kompany says not much difference between Bayern, City (kicker via @iMiaSanMia)
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany recently reflected on on the difference between his time at Manchester City and his current life at Bayern Munich.
“I think I can identify with the players here the same way. There’s no big difference with the dressing room at City and that is definitely an advantage. I understand what motivates my players, what their ambitions are and what their simple concerns are. I’m also lucky to have a very good group who enjoy spending time together. So I understand how important it is to protect that dynamic,” said Kompany.
Madrid staying diligent with Huijsen (ESPN)
Real Madrid seems like it is very serious about Bournemouth center-back Dean Huijsen:
Scouts from Real Madrid are set to watch AFC Bournemouth centre-back Dean Huijsen, reports The Sun. Los Blancos are keen to get a closer look at the 19-year-old, after he was called up to the Spain national team to replace injured Barcelona defender Iñigo Martínez. Manchester United are also considering a potential move in the summer.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show: Italy 1-2 Germany (Bavarian Football Works)
There were some large questions about this starting lineup for Julian Nagelsmann but some adjustments at half allowed Die Mannschaft to pull off a thrilling comeback to win on Italian soil.
Germany will now head to Dortmund to avenge their 2006 loss to the Italians in the FIFA World Cup riding a serious high. There could be big things ahead for the Germans.
Let’s talk about all of that and more on the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. This is what we have on tap:
- A look at the starting XI and our thoughts on the rotation.
- A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.
- Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.
Eberl talks Tel (Sport Bild via @iMiaSanMia)
Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl says there might have been a changing of opinion on Mathys Tel over time.
“When I started my work here, Mathys for me was an important face for the future of FC Bayern. The situation then developed differently. Sometimes you have to make such tough decisions because a development has stagnated and it’s not a good fit for either side,” said Eberl.
Kimmich, Goretzka recognized for efforts (@WhoScored via @iMiaSanMia)
Bayern Munich stars Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka were names to WhoScored.com’s UEFA Nations League Team of the Week:
Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in @WhoScored‘s Nations League Team of the Week
Kimmich is player of the week pic.twitter.com/XtZAxqOxZb
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) March 21, 2025
