Weekend Warm-up: Bayern Munich’s rumored plan to get Florian Wirtz is, well, something; Bayern unhappy with Joshua Kimmich; Throwing it back to AC/DC; Takes on House of the Dragon and The Boys; + MORE! (2024)

According to a report from Sport Bild journalists Christian Falk and Tobi Tobi Altschäffl (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich has a plan to get Florian Wirtz in 2025, but it is a two-step process where the Bavarians will fill the gap for one year with Paris Saint-Germain attacker Xavi Simons.

In theory, it is a plan that could work, but would take some major maneuvering to get all of these pieces in place for it to happen. Let’s take a look:

There’s a consideration for Bayern to sign Xavi Simons on a season-long loan deal and then go for Florian Wirtz next summer. But it remains to be seen whether it’s realistic for Bayern to sign such a prominent player only on loan and also whether Simons would accept that.

It would seem doubtful that PSG would empower Bayern Munich — one of the French club’s primary competitors in the Champions League — with one-year loan of Simons, when there will surely be other options — and also at a time where he might be a fit in their own starting XI. Getting Wirtz for what will surely be a nine-figure fee from a Bundesliga competitor might even be more likely than Simons moving to Bayern Munich for one season.

While the debate could rage on regarding the likelihood of a move for Simons, the real story here is Bayern Munich once again being linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen’s Wirtz. Why that is important is because if — and it is a big if — Bayern Munich is planning to really take a serious run at Wirtz, it will affect what moves the Bavarians make this summer...and would also explain why the club seems intent on shedding so many players with big salaries.

Is 2024 all about setting the club up to be able to afford Wirtz in 2025? That could be the case.

Based on reports (we know, we know), Bayern Munich is rumored to have Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Alphonso Davies, Noussair Mazraoui, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, Matthijs de Ligt, and Dayot Upamecano as potential options to be sold this summer. Actually convincing those players to leave — and attaining a good transfer fee for them is one step in the process, but stripping them from the team’s payroll is step two.

The Bavarians could very be setting themselves up to take the big leap to get Wirtz, but it could come at the cost of another trophyless season. It is hard to imagine the club being able to field a competitive squad without many of those names listed above.

So...if it came down to that, would you be willing to punt this season, flip the roster, and make a blockbuster run at Wirtz next summer?

Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Germany vs. Denmark

For Germany, a successful EURO 2024 Group Stage was just the first milestone in what former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann is hoping is a long journey for the tournament.

In drawing Denmark for the Round of 16, the German national team should be well-poised to advance, but the Danes have a way of mucking a game up — and if Germany falls victim to that tactic, it could make for a dangerous (and probably boring) contest.

Regardless, most are expecting the hosts to make it through to the quarterfinal round, but it might not be easy. Let’s take a look at what is on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show:

• A recap of the results from the Group Stage for both teams.
• Where Germany stands heading into the knockout rounds.
• How many starters will be different for Germany given the injury to Antonio Rüdiger and the suspension to Jonathan Tah?
• Will Niclas Füllkrug get the starting nod?
• A guess at Julian Nagelsmann’s lineup.
• A prediction on the match.

Song of the Week: “Moneytalks” by AC/DC

Given the state of affairs at Bayern Munich and the club having with such a strong focus on money, it just seemed like a good time to break this one out from AC/DC.

First, I’ve always loved this song (dodges tomatoes), but somehow made it to this point in my life thinking it was “Money Talks” and not “Moneytalks.” You learn something new every day.

Anyway, this was released in 1990 with one of my all-time favorite tunes, “Thunderstruck”, which I profiled a LONG time ago. Enjoy:

Kimmich on his way out of Bayern?

According to Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk in his work for CaughtOffside (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Joshua Kimmich could be on his way out of Bayern Munich because some of the club’s bosses are unhappy with him.

Why?

Because of the documentary that was recently release where Kimmich was the featured subject:

Bayern bosses were very upset about Joshua Kimmich’s recently released documentary. Further cooperation beyond 2025 currently seems difficult to imagine. Barcelona are interested in Kimmich, but cannot pay his salary of up to €20m and a transfer fee. Manchester City were interested last summer. Kimmich is still waiting for an offer, otherwise he would like to stay in Munich until the end of his contract.

Obviously, things are not exactly great between Kimmich and the club at the moment, but this scenario seems like a reach (at least as of now). The key part to be me would be to know who among the club executives are unhappy with Kimmich. Is it the CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen? President Herbert Hainer? Maybe Max Eberl or Christoph Freund?

Who knows?

The primary takeaway from this is that if the club bosses want to move on from Kimmich, it has less to do with any documentary than how the club views his worth to the locker room for the future.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Show Season 3, Episode 50

In the middle of the offseason, things should be slowing down, but for Bayern Munich and German national team fans, it was been, well, pretty darn wild.

The Bavarians are in the middle of what figures to be a crazy transfer period, while Germany has already looked better in a tourney than it has at any point since that last run under Joachim Löw at EURO 2020 (played in 2021) or maybe the first 10 games under Hansi Flick:

Now, though, it’s a new day for both Bayern Munich and Germany:

• Chuck is back in the saddle! Find out what he has been up to and why he has been off the airwaves for a spell.
• Germany put itself in a good position to consider this tourney run a success.
• It is still early, but Chuck does not like the direction of Bayern Munich’s New World Order in the front office.
• Are three center-backs really up for sale?
• Fans who wanted change are going to get exactly what they were asking for.
• Selling Kingsley Coman might not be easy.
• Joshua Kimmich seems likely to leave this summer (or maybe in 2025), while Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry could just get frozen out until they want to leave.

Entertainment Rundown

House of the Dragon — Season 2, Episode 2

• The fallout from the murder of Prince Jaehaerys was a massive part of the episode and set the tone nicely for what was to come.
• Obviously, Daemon being fingered for the arranging the deed has put him on the outs at Dragonstone, but it feels like we will see much more of him anyway.
• Much like the season opener, the second episode started out quickly and was filled with excitement, action, drama, politicking, and an extreme amount of conniving.
• Otto Hightower losing his position as Hand of the King definitely seems like King Aegon is about to go fully unhinged. Appointing Ser Criston Cole as the new Hand definitely seems like rash decision, which we can assume will end badly.
• We need to see Aemond in action. He is talked about as a legendary warrior, but we have yet to really see how he has evolved in hand-to-hand combat in a real battle. Hopefully we get that soon enough.
• George RR Martin does a lot of great things, but Cole’s decision to send Arryk to assassinate Rhaenyra was just too....quaint. The inevitable battle between Arryk and Erryk was grisly, but did not wholly live up to what I wanted it to be. Either way, that storyline (twins on opposing sides) could have been much deeper and important to the overall story. It seemed like a waste of two good characters to kill them off already.
• More on that topic, Mysaria being the one to identify Arryk was too convenient.
• Overall, this was a very good episode even if there were some things that I did not like.

Rating: 9.0/10.0

The Boys — Season 4, Episodes 1-4

• Okay...where to even start with this.
• First and foremost, the acting is still spectacular. Karl Urban’s Butcher and Antony Starr’s Homelander are just incredible characters for those two actors to play.
• Butcher is going through some things (obviously), but just does not fit in a role other than lead dog of The Boys. Similarly, Marvin (aka Mother’s Milk) is not exactly crushing it as the new boss of The Boys.
• The storyline with Hughie’s dad (and the subsequent introduction of Compound V into his system) is opening up another point in a plot that already seems unable to keep up with itself.
• Grossness and gore do not typically bother me too much, but this is over the top at times. It is almost like because the writing is going in circles at times, they are trying to fill the void with “shock scenes”...which have become a bit played out. It is not shocking if you can bank on seeing two or three insane things every episode.
• I don’t like having an actor take the place of Black Noir. It was good for an initial chuckle, but now the joke has gotten old.
• The primary plotline — of course — is a satirical take on modern day American politics. I have zero desire to get a political debate started in the comments, but much like the rest of this arc, it just feels like it is too much and too over the top. It is just not hitting the mark fully for me.
• It does feel like the quality of the show has dropped a bit as the writers have ventured too far into trying to make fiction turn into real life. For me, it is not working all that great and is taking the show off course a bit. I am hoping the second half of the season can pull everything back in order.
• A-Train’s decision to flip on Team Vought was not thoroughly unexpected, but does make him seem very vulnerable at this point.
• It just seems like Sage is a double agent of sorts and is setting up Vaught and Homelander for a big fall.
• It is clear where things are going with the Vought vs. Starlighters plotline, but the main point of the season now seems to be freeing Ryan of Homelander, rather than just strictly killing Homelander (which is still a strong focus).
• More than anything, it feels like the show is distracted in itself. The varying time-filling storylines are a big part of that (Frenchie, Ashley, Fake Black Noir, A-Train, Ryan, Homelander going nuts, etc.).
• Overall, this was a very up-and-down start that lacks the intrigue of the previous seasons so far. Much like how I feel about the current situation at Bayern Munich, I have doubts, am skeptical, but have hope that it eventually does all fall into sync. This is really the first time I have been iffy about the show. Hopefully, it gathers itself and puts focus back on the important storylines.

Rating: 6.0/10.0