City, Chelsea enamored with Pavlović (TEAMtalk)
Bayern Munich is highly unlikely to part ways with midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović any time soon, but that will not stop Manchester City and Chelsea from fawning over the 21-year-old:
Manchester City and Chelsea are closely following the progress of Bayern Munich starlet Aleksandar Pavlovic with their analytics pointing to the fact he could be the nearest thing to Rodri. There is little suggestion that Pavlovic would want to leave Munich or indeed that Bayern would allow him to leave, but that does
not stop others from admiring him.
Manchester United were linked in the summer, but TEAMtalk can reveal that it is Manchester City and Chelsea who have been doing a considerable amount of work on Pavlovic. City for their part are always working on what is next – be it for their manager Pep Guardiola or Erling Haaland, or in this case Rodri.
Bayern are aware that Pavlovic is special, and there is a reason he has been handed a new contract every year since he emerged onto the scene in 2023. We are told they are already looking at another extension for him.
Should anyone come calling for Pavlovic in 2026, then you are looking at club-record sale numbers. Bayern have never sold a player for £100m – indeed their record sale is Matthijs de Ligt to Manchester United – but that is the sort of level that would be needed to land a player of Pavlovic’s talents.
There is no indication that Bayern Munich is anything but pleased with Pavlović’s development, and while it is nice to think City or Chelsea would lob a nine-figure offer to Bayern Munich for the Germany international, it is very unlikely to happen, no matter what this report says.
BVB set for some big changes (Sky Germany’s Patrick Berger)
Borussia Dortmund could be looking at a bit of an overhaul for its roster. Niklas Süle, Salih Özcan, and Pascal Groß could all be gone during the summer:
BVB will let go of at least three players this summer according to Sky sources: the contracts of Niklas Süle and Salih Özcan will definitely not be extended. Everything also points to a departure for Pascal Groß. As reported by TU on Monday. ⚫️🟡
An extension is planned with Julian Brandt – he has something on the table. Further talks scheduled for January.
For Emre Can, the development is being awaited, including how the existing adductor problems progress. Additionally, he has a game-contingent option, but it has apparently become difficult to reach in the meantime. Both sides could imagine further collaboration. It’s not true that Besiktas and Gala are currently involved.
No new status for Schlotterbeck and Adeyemi, BVB wants to extend, but talks are at a standstill at the moment.
@SkySportDE
Borussia Dortmund and how it functions under Niko Kovač will be under scrutiny in the second half of the season. Kovač can wear down his team and there are some whispers that not all players have bought into his style…so, stay tuned.
Zirkzee wants to battle for position at United (Sky Sports via ESPN)
Despite interest from AS Roma, former Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee wants to stay and fight for his position at Manchester United:
Joshua Zirkzee wants to stay at Manchester United and fight for his place amid interest from Roma.
Zirkzee’s move to Manchester has been an unmitigated disaster, so his desire to stay is….puzzling.
City pulling Echeverri back from Leverkusen (Fabrizio Romano)
Manchester City loanee Claudio Echeverri will leave Bayer Leverkusen early. The 19-year-old had one assist in 11 games across all competitions, while only playing 270 minutes. For City, that was not good enough:
🚨🇦🇷 Bayer Leverkusen and Man City have agreed to terminate Claudio Echeverri’s loan deal from January.
The Argentinian talent returns to Man City for new loan with Girona and River Plate both keen. 👀
Moyes wants to keep Grealish at Everton (Football Insider)
David Moyes would like to find a way to keep Manchester City loanee Jack Grealish at Everton:
David Moyes is determined to keep Jack Grealish at Everton beyond the end of his current loan spell amid speculation about his long-term future.
That is according to former Man United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown, who remains very well-connected within the game, as he exclusively told Football Insider that the boss would “love” to agree a permanent deal for the Man City loanee.
“Everton would like to sign Grealish permanently, of course,” he told Football Insider. “If they can agree a lower fee with City, that might be the best outcome for everybody, but then it’s just whether they will be able to do that.
“Moysey would certainly like to do that, he’s determined to keep him around because he’s become such a vital part of the plans they’re putting in place. It’s been a strong season so far and Grealish has been a major contributor to that. Plus, Moyes is getting the best out of him and it looks like he’s happy at Everton, he looks to have got that spark back which he lost a little bit at City.
“If it’s something that can be done, Moyes will be pushing to get it over the line, because keeping Jack Grealish could be a massive boost going into next season. Obviously the focus at the moment is on what’s happening this season and other areas they might want to strengthen in, but it’s something they will visit at some point.”
Grealish is rumored to be one of Vincent Kompany’s favorite players, but the time for a move like that at Bayern Munich appears to be over.
Kampl to retire (Get German Football News)
Longtime RB Leipzig midfielder Kevin Kampl will reportedly retire after the season. Kampl has had an 18-year professional career:
🇸🇮 RB Leipzig midfielder Kevin Kampl is set to retire from professional football. (LvZ)
The 35-year-old will bring to an end an 18-year career which has seen him play for Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
