An exclusive transfer round-up from Bundesliga insider Christian Falk, featuring Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool and more.
The top stories:
- Chelsea have a big advantage in the Youssoufa Moukoko transfer race
- Liverpool have between £200-250m to spend in the summer
- And plenty more on Dortmund, Barcelona, Manchester United and Newcastle
Arsenal
Evan Ndicka has an offer from Frankfurt – a three-year extension specifically. I think there’s a good chance that he’ll sign this contract but there are many clubs interested at the moment, one of them is Arsenal. It’s not so concrete that Frankfurt are really afraid of losing him.
Atlético Madrid
I’m not sure if Dortmund want to keep Raphaël Guerreiro anyway. It isn’t clear how serious Atlético’s interest is. I think Dortmund knows that Guerreiro won’t sign a new contract, so Atlético could fit.
Barcelona
A move to Barcelona could happen for Benjamin Pavard. Pavard changed his agent – his new agent is Pini Zahavi – and if you see Pini’s friends, there are always two clubs.
One is Chelsea. When he’s talking about Chelsea he’s often talking in terms of ‘us’ and ‘we’, so he’s really close. He’s living in London, so that’s why there were many rumours in the past around Pavard and Chelsea.
[Benjamin Pavard walks away from the World Cup trophy – photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images]
But the other club, and a big friend of his, is Joan Laporta’s Barcelona. He’s always got a bit of back and forth with him; we saw it with Robert Lewandowksi and at the end it worked. So yes, it’s true – Barcelona and Pavard, there is a connection at the moment. If they do it, it will depend a bit on Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich
Alphonso Davies is the future. The bosses at Bayern Munich won’t sell him to Real Madrid. There’s no price on him, so no, no they won’t.
Nobody knows when Manuel Neuer will return or how he’ll return, so Yann Sommer sees a big chance at Bayern. It’s a dream for him and he’s got a guaranteed six months’ worth of game time. After the six months, we have to look at what shape Neuer is in and then he can show if he’s better or not.
[Yann Sommer and Manuel Neuer during a UEFA Nations League clash between Switzerland and Germany – photo by Ina Fassbender / AFP via Getty Images]
Bayern Munich would love to sign Florian Wirtz because he’s one of Germany’s biggest talents at his age. But he signed a new contract with Bayer Leverkusen (set to last until 2027), which I heard Bayern Munich’s bosses weren’t so happy about, as he no release clause in this contract.
Jamal Musiala has a very new contract. It’s not that they have to hand him a new one soon but they see that they have to do something because he keeps getting better.
He has an English past so everybody knows that in his head he’s still thinking a little bit about the Premier League.
They are talking now about a new contract, if they do it, it’ll only be until 2027 (his current contract isn’t set to expire until 2026). He can get a bigger salary than the one he’s got at the moment. He’s not in the range he should be, so they want to put a little bit more money in his contract.
Should Bayern Munich make Yann Sommer their new No.1 even once Manuel Neuer is fit and back in action? Tell us what you think in the comments!
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund are searching for a player like Weston McKennie but I heard that option No.1 is Mohammed Kudus of Ajax. There are still talks with him and they want to sign him if it’s possible to arrange. I’m sure McKennie’s on the list but I think they’re talking mainly about other names but if they don’t come then he could, I think, be an option.
[Mohammed Kudus in action against Napoli – photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images].
Daichi Kamada has been offered a three-year contract extension like Ndicka but Gladbach aren’t so sure that he’ll sign it, so Dortmund is a possibility for him.
He has so many options. I think he will leave the club and maybe stay in the Bundesliga for Dortmund. Many clubs are interested, he’s got many opportunities, I think he won’t stay.
Chelsea
There are many clubs showing interest in Joško Gvardiol. He was always good in the Bundesliga and now everybody has seen him at the World Cup.
Chelsea made very concrete talks in the past. On Leipzig’s end, they gave him a new contract until 2027 and they added a clause that allows him to leave in 2024. The interesting thing now is that they’ve set a benchmark of €112m and they don’t want to sell him this summer.
Leipzig could lose him if Chelsea offer to pay €100m. That’s really in their mind and they know they can’t say no for a second time if such an amount of money is on the table.
The Blues won’t be alone in their interest, however, with London rivals Tottenham also very interested in the Croatian for the summer.
It’s looking like Youssoufa Moukoko is really keen on leaving Dortmund. It’s a question of money.
I have heard, and this is a very interesting point for England, that Chelsea has a really good opportunity because they have Christopher Vivell now and he knows Moukoko very well from his time in the Bundesliga. He liked the player during his time at RB Leipzig, he always had an eye on him, so I think he has a good advantage in the poker game, which means there’s a good chance for Chelsea to get Moukoko.
Should Chelsea sign another forward in January? Is it worth attempting to land Youssoufa Moukoko from Borussia Dortmund? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!
Eintracht Frankfurt
I think, in this case, Randal Kolo Muani’s own club are in the driving seat when it comes to his future. Eintracht can say no and I think they will say no.
They have their own targets – they want to play in the Champions League. I don’t know if they will this time but any league in Europe is, for them, a success. They’ve done very well this year and they don’t want to sell him now. They know they can’t hold him for years but for one more year, they think they can do it.
He hasn’t got a release clause, they’ve made it clear that they won’t sell in winter.
Germany
Hansi Flick will be our coach at the European Championship in Germany – that’s clear. Thomas Tuchel had an eye on Germany, he also had an eye on England but Gareth Southgate is also staying, so he won’t be a national coach for either.
I was really happy to hear again that Jürgen Klopp said in an interview that he still has an eye on the national job. I think he can be the future in many years but not in the next two. Hansi Flick will be the Bundestrainer in Germany and after that they have to talk again.
Gladbach
It’s also a question of money but Gladbach knows that they will let Kouadio Koné go in the summer unless there’s an opportunity to keep hold of him.
Liverpool are watching him, Newcastle were very interested in him, PSG also interested.
Bayern says no, that’s my concrete information, they don’t want to buy him. Not this summer, perhaps in future but then he’s gone. Bayern have enough midfield players so they’re not in the race.
Dion Beljo is on the list of Gladbach. He’s the No.1 option in case Marcus Thuram leaves.
David Kownacki, he’s playing for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the second league, he’s also an option for Gladbach.
Liverpool
There’s not much in the way of hope that Jude Bellingham will stay at Borussia Dortmund. There isn’t a clause in his current contract allowing him to leave in the summer but they told him that if there’s a big opportunity for him (ultimately, he has a career plan – that’s why he came to the Bundesliga), he can leave.
They have to talk, if he wants to talk. I think they will have to talk. I noted on Twitter a few weeks ago that his father is very keen on the prospect of his boy going to Liverpool.
I don’t think a January exit will happen, Dortmund doesn’t like to do that. Money will be the main point for Liverpool but don’t forget about Real Madrid, as they have more at the moment.
I heard in Liverpool that Jürgen Klopp really wants him. We call him a ‘mancatcher’ – if he wants to pursue a person, he can do that but he also has to pursue the club. I heard the club has about £200-250m that they want to spend in the summer, so there’s a good chance they get Bellingham.
[Jude Bellingham (far left) celebrates with Dortmund teammates – photo by Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images]
Jurgen Klopp: “Jude is a great player who we are familiar with, of course. We’d be stupid not to have him on our radar. But there’s nothing more to say at the moment.”
Will Jude Bellingham join Liverpool in the summer? Leave a comment below and let me know!
Manchester United
Dani Olmo is another case like Gvardiol because Leipzig really want to keep him, so it’s not getting easier for any interested clubs. They want to give him a new contract.
Yes, United is an option, of course. They have money but I’m not sure they want him enough to make the payment.
Newcastle
Newcastle’s interest in Marcus Thuram was serious, that’s true. They decided already in this window that they won’t go to Newcastle. Everyone has to see what happened with Newcastle, nobody knows if they’ll get Champions League football.
[Marcus Thuram (left) on the France bench with Kylian Mbappé – photo by Jewel Samad/ AFP via Getty Images]
From Thuram’s side, they made a plan and decided to stay at Gladbach for the moment. If there’s a big offer, it has to come from a very big club – United is one of them, Bayern is one, Inter Milan and PSG. These four clubs are in their head. If they bring a good offer and Gladbach says ‘okay, for this money we have to sell him because we’ll lose him anyway’ they will do it.
He won’t sign now at Newcastle as he’ll have so many options in the summer. But if one of these four clubs is knocking on his door then things could progress quickly.
PSG
If a player is injured there is always hope of his club agreeing a contract extension. It really was a pity for N’Golo Kanté to be injured before the World Cup.
I spoke about PSG. I know that Thomas Tuchel, back when he was Chelsea’s manager, was very interested in new players in Kanté’s position because he knew already that they can lose Kanté to PSG. Tuchel heard about the interest and searched for new players in his position.
The only thing is, he was injured, so perhaps he is more likely to talk now about his future because the situation isn’t quite as good as it was before.
I think the situation is open. Paris is Paris, it’s France. Perhaps it’s a really good last step for him but perhaps they feel there are more interesting players on the market now, so I would say 50-50.