Le Journal

With the fourth midfield spot finally opening for a competent player, Bayern Munich is already on the lookout for someone to occupy that spot. Kennet Eichhorn, Nathan De Cat, and Zé Lucas are the frontrunners, but maybe Bayern should look for an internal solution. Behind Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Tom Bischof, Noël Aséko Nkili and David Santos Daiber are considered candidates to make up the four-man rotation in the pivot (Sport Bild’s Christian Falk as captured by X account @iMiaSanMia). The three aforementioned transfer targets are still being monitored but the club is also inclined towards giving one of their own a chance to prove themselves. This is great news because Bayern is finally about to get a proper midfielder that can positively influence the team and work his way up to becoming a mainstay of the first team. Pavlović did it, Jamal Musiala did it, Lennart Karl did it, even Kenan Yıldız…for Juventus’ first team. Bayern has great talent within its youth teams, it’s about nurturing them.

Said El Mala has burst onto the scene at FC Köln and he’s quickly become a transfer target for several top clubs across Europe including Bayern Munich. His profile has been compared to that of Lennart Karl and Jamal Musiala with his pace, dribbling abilities, and finishing, but he’s his own player and, by the looks of things, has quite a high ceiling ahead of him. So far this season, El Mala has tallied seven goals and three assists from a total of twenty appearances across all competitions and also recorded an assist for the Germany U-21 side in the U-21 European Championship qualifying in their most recent qualifier against Georgia. Much like for Karl, there have been calls from pundits across Germany for Julian Nagelsmann to give El Mala a callup to the Germany senior squad at some point before this summer’s World Cup and possibly even include him in the final roster that heads to the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It’s no secret that El Mala is one of the names on Bayern’s transfer targets list for the summer, but his market value will likely continue to climb as this season progresses and Köln would definitely want to get a pretty penny for selling a start to a rival Bundesliga club. As such, Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl was recently asked about the 19-year-old phenom, but he did not want to go into any sort of detail about Bayern’s interest in the player. “You’ll have to ask my Köln colleagues what they think of him. He’s under contract with FC Köln. It’s a great story. He’s from Köln and also played in Gladbach’s youth academy, if I understood correctly,” Eberl replied when he was aksed whether or not El Mala could play for Bayern one day (via @iMiaSanMia). Of course, Eberl had a long tenure as Borussia Mönchengladbach’s sporting director before taking on his role at RB Leipzig, and subsequently, Bayern. Right now, El Mala is valuated at 40 million euros and his current contract with Köln is set to run through June 2030, so Köln does have leverage when it comes to interested clubs coming to the negotiating table for him. Additionally, he does not have a release clause in his contract, so Köln do hold all of the cards in that sense, especially if they’ll be dealing with Bayern or another Bundesliga club.

Bayern Munich is on a roll. The club has been carving teams up like a katana through crepe paper. It has been a joy to watch this team reach their best under Vincent Kompany. With Olise, Diaz, and Kane performing up front like they’ve been thus far, and the rest of the team clicking around them, the returns of Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala would give the team that additional push that would further separate them from the rest of the pack in Europe. In a recent interview with Tz (@tzmuenchen) as covered by @iMiaSanMia, Manuel Neuer admitted that “some people would be upset if I said it was the best [laughs].” However, he added, “I simply think it’s one of the best.” He then went on to add, “It’s a lot of fun to play in this team and under this coaching staff. We’re a unit; that’s the most important thing.” This is highly encouraging, and Kompany and the staff seem to have struck the right balance… the players are thriving as a unit, everybody is fighting for the badge, and the morale seems to be high. Europe, beware. BFW Analysis While a diplomatic answer is to be expected from the longtime captain of Bayern, Manuel Neuer (also the greatest goalkeeper of all time), it is clear that he believes this side is AT LEAST one of the best ever, and possibly the absolute best Bayern side of all time. And there would be a lot of truth to that, thus far at least. For starters, Bayern is having a historic Bundesliga season, with no other Bundesliga side in history having registered more points at this stage in the season. Moreover, the goal difference is also historic, with the team scoring goals at an alarming rate and conceding very few. The team is also alive and thriving in other competitions, with a DFB Pokal quarterfinal matchup against RB Leipzig looming on the horizon and a comfortable second berth in the Champions League group stage table. The team is on track to win every trophy possible. If the players all stay healthy, and Kompany doesn’t encounter a Freaky Friday-esque body swap with Thomas Tuchel, there is no stopping this team. The transfer from Crystal Palace will be looked back upon as one of the most important transfers Bayern Munich has ever made. What a deal for one of the best players in the world. 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… Join the conversation! Sign up for a user account and get: New, improved notifications system! Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts

North Korea-linked hackers are using emails that impersonate human rights organizations and financial institutions in phishing attacks, according to a report released Monday.