Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich won’t let Benjamin Pavard leave for Chelsea; Could Christopher Nkunku replace Leroy Sané next season?; Manchester United ignored Ralf Rangnick’s transfer list; Updates on Joshua Zirkzee and Bright Arrey-Mbi; + MORE!

Bayern won’t let Pavard leave for Chelsea (Inside Futbol)

Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard wanted a move to center-back, but through two games so far, the Frenchman has started — and turned in solid performances — at right-back.

While Pavard still could get some time centrally, it has become clear that Julian Nagelsmann values his versatility — and Bayern Munich’s manager is not the only one.

Chelsea FC still wants Pavard, but the Bavarians do not want to let him go:

Bayern Munich have no intention of letting Chelsea target Benjamin Pavard leave the club in the ongoing window, contrary to claims. Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is looking to overhaul his defence in the ongoing window, having seen the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen leave the club this summer. Chelsea have signed Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella and are working hard to snare away Wesley Fofana from Leicester City.

Bayern Munich star Pavard has been touted as another defensive addition to Chelsea’s ranks in the ongoing window and it has been claimed that he is open to joining them. Pavard reportedly wants to play at centre-back more this season, while Bayern Munich primarily see him as a right-back and want him to continue in that position, which has added to the transfer chatter surrounding his future.

But according to German magazine kicker, the Bavarians are not planning to let Pavard leave the club in the ongoing window. Bayern Munich do not want to sell Pavard this summer, especially since he has managed to impress on the pitch in recent outings.

Pavard has looked very good so far and might make some playing time decisions difficult for Nagelsmann.

Nkunku to Bayern picking up steam (Get German Football News)

RB Leipzig star Christopher Nkunku reportedly wants to make the leap to a “big club” next season and Bayern Munich is said to very interested in the Frenchman — especially if Leroy Sané cannot break through into Julian Nagelsmann’s lineup and ultimately wants to leave:

According to Sport1, RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku would like to take the next step in his development next summer and Bayern Munich is an option for the Frenchman.

Represented by Pini Zahavi, he told Sport Bild that he hopes to bring Bayern Munich players, and not just take them away. The 78-year-old helped engineer the departures of David Alaba and Robert Lewandowski to Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have been interested in Nkunku for some time but following the signing of Sadio Mané and the contract extension of Serge Gnabry, would be unable to accommodate Nkunku.

However, if Leroy Sané fails to impress bosses this season, there’s a chance that the German could be sold, and Nkunku signed as a replacement.

Eindhoven eyeing Zirkzee? (@ED_Regio via @iMiaSanMia)

Bayern Munich striker Joshua Zirkzee could be headed to PSV Eindhoven if some things break right:

Bavarian Podcast Works Preview Show: Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich will take on a familiar foe in Niko Kovac’s VfL Wolfsburg in their upcoming Bundesliga game. Without further ado, we discuss some of the following points:

• What are some transfers Wolfsburg made?
• What has Wolfsburg looked like so far?
• Can Wolfsburg beat Bayern? Will Wolfsburg beat Bayern?
• What are some potential changes Julian Nagelsmann might make?
• Will Nagelsmann’s Bayern eventually get found out?
• What are some other Bundesliga fixtures this weekend?
• A look back at some of last weekend’s fixtures
• A look ahead to some of this weekend’s fixtures including Schalke vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach

Rangnick’s plan ignored at United (Sport Bild)

One of the curious partnerships in Europe in quite some time was the one between Manchester United and Ralf Rangnick. Ultimately, it seems that United had no interest in following Rangnick’s plan, which led him to leave the club in favor of the coaching job with the Austrian national team:

At the end of November last year, Ralf Rangnick (64) stepped in as interim coach at Manchester United. He would stay with the club as a consultant. But in the summer it was over - in both functions.

Rangnick is now the coach of the Austrian national team, but before that he gave the “Red Devils” a list of player recommendations. Stars they should definitely commit to. The sobering record: United have not gotten any of them so far – two have even switched to city rivals Manchester City!

There were five players on Rangnick’s list: Josko Gvardiol (20, classified by Rangnick as a must buy), Konrad Laimer (25), Christopher Nkunku (24), Erling Haaland (22) and Julian Alvarez (22).

United have not signed any of the players so far.

That would have been quite a haul for Manchester United, but the Red Devils went in a different direction:

Instead, Manchester United have signed left-back Tyrell Malacia for €15m from Feyenoord, midfielder Christian Eriksen from Brentford (free transfer) and centre-back Lisandro Martinez from Ajax (just under €58m). Adrien Rabiot is under discussion as the fourth newcomer.

At Manchester United, the start of the season was anything but good, the Red Devils lost the Premier League opener 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion under new coach Erik ten Hag (52).

Maybe they should have listened to Rangnick a little more?

ICYMI: This was pretty cool (@FCBayernEN)

Our guys Jack and Teddy captured this really nicely in the leak and the official drop, but Bayern Munich had a really cool way to unveil its third kit:

You can get a little better look at the full jersey in this tweet:

Asking for a friend...(@ESPNUK)

This question in the tweet and that initial statement...what do you think?

This intrigued me to the point where I went to BFW’s resident Tottenham Hotspur expert, Logan Chugg, to see what he thought. Here is what Logan had to say: “Spurs’ attack has long been compared to Bayern because Harry Kane is one of few strikers in the world that is mentioned in conversation with Robert Lewandowski when it comes to best striker. Even with Lewandowski gone, the comparisons could still be made. Son (Heung-min) and (Thomas) Müller have a lot in common — each having the ability to both score and create goals. With the departures and additions that both teams have made over the last few transfer windows, both teams could have multiple 20-goal seasons (if not in their respective leagues, then across all competitions).”

Personally, I think Manchester City’s attack will prove to be the best in England and that Bayern Munich’s attack — while not really a part of the original question here — will also outperform Tottenham Hotspur threesome.

Arrey-Mbi’s loan at 1. FC Köln ending prematurely (@PhilipMarq)

Bright Arrey-Mbi’s loan at 1. FC Köln has ended prematurely because Die Geißböcke has no plans for the youngster:

Exclusive @Transfermarkt: Central defender #ArreyMbi plays no role at his loan club #Effzeh and is allowed to leave early this summer. #FCBayern contract runs until 2025. Many clubs are in talks as buyers for the 19-year-old – the end is still open!

It is expected that Bayern Munich will find another loan destination for the player.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Flagship Show: Season 5, Episode 6 (Bavarian Football Works)

Here are the major talking points discussed in this episode:

• Bayern’s dominant performance against Frankfurt
• How Chuck steals the spotlight all the time, leaving the rest of us poor folks hanging
• The 4-triple-2 and what it brings to the table
• Nagelsmann’s plans for the rest of the season
• Tom’s insufferable EPL talk and Schnitzel trying hard to bring him back on track
• Sané transfer rumors
• Throwing shade at INNN and Teddy (once again)
• A look at the other fixtures in the BuLi and early predictions for the rest of the season

(Editor’s Note: Chuck is going to burst into the offices of #EnglishTomAdams and Schnitzel and pull a “Darth Vader at the end of Rogue One”)