The Bayern Insider: Anthony Gordon on Bayern’s radar as Premier League given Pavlovic warning

Normally, you’d think Bayern are playing dominant football, as they have all season! But then it was a completely different experience in the second leg, also partly because of Manuel Neuer!

Max Eberl vs Christoph Freund

❌ **It is****NOT TRUE: Max Eberl and Christoph Freund’s relationship has become strained in recent weeks.**Yesterday at the stadium, we talked with the bosses, with the CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen, and with the President, Herbert Hainer, and they both said it’s complete nonsense. Eberl and Freund are working very well together. The thing we need to watch out for is the future of Max Eberl. The supervisory board (made up of Uli Hoeneß, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Herbert Hainer) have to decide what will happen with the head of sport, Eberl, this summer.

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Christoph Freund, who’s a level lower (as the sporting director), has earned the confidence of the Bayern bosses, and he’s going to get a new contract. The same can’t be said for absolutely certain, as far as Max Eberl is concerned. So, I can appreciate how, from the outside looking in, some might feel there’s a problem between these two guys, but that simply isn’t the case. They’re working really well together, and they’ve made some great decisions. They brought Michael Olise in, they brought Vincent Kompany in, and while it may be hard for Liverpool fans to hear, they also brought Luis Diaz in. It’s possible that FC Bayern have the best offence in Europe, as we’ve seen in the win against Real Madrid. This is ultimately thanks to the work of these two guys.

Anthony Gordon to leave Newcastle United?

✅ **It is TRUE: Anthony Gordon is on Bayern Munich’s radar.**It was an exclusive from CaughtOffside, and many English newspapers were discussing these rumours. I’ve since talked with someone at the club, and they’ve confirmed that this is indeed true. Bayern Munich are interested in the player and he’s on the shortlist (he’s also highly rated this time). My first question was whether FC Bayern needed Gordon, as he’s perhaps too good for the position of backup to Luis Diaz. The idea of Bayern Munich is now that if they end up signing the England international, they’d also get a suitable backup option for Diaz and Harry Kane. He can also play on the right side if Michael Olise needs a break. So, he’s the kind of player who could always play or be available on the bench. Effectively, you’re getting two or three players for the price of one. However, Gordon would still be very expensive! The Telegraph reported an asking price of £80m Newcastle are looking for if he were to leave this summer – that’s a lot of money!

→ Become a Bayern insider: The Bayern Insider: Gerrard is right about Michael Olise as Vinicius Jr transfer hope crushed

Aleksandar Pavlović, Man City and Real Madrid

❌ **It is****NOT TRUE:**Real Madrid and Manchester City made enquiries about Aleksandar Pavlović. Maybe Madrid would like to have him after he scored the first goal against them in the Champions League on Wednesday. But no, there has been no offer, no talks with the agent, and no talks with the club. Perhaps they and Pep Guardiola think he’s an interesting player, but he’s a Munich man. He loves Bayern Munich; he came up through the youth ranks.

I believe that behind Manuel Neuer, he’s spent the most time at the club. The 21-year-old is a young player but he was in the youth teams. He loves this club and I don’t think he’d leave at the moment, as FC Bayern are doing so well at the moment. They certainly have one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. Perhaps even the best team in Europe! He’s a big part of this side, so why should he leave?

Manuel Neuer to Brighton?

❌ **It is****NOT TRUE: Brighton are considering a move for Manuel Neuer if he leaves Bayern this summer.**The German will decide whether he stays for another year in Munich or quits at the end of the season. I spoke with him after the match against Real. He wants to make a decision in the relatively near future. The game itself was really tough for him. The first two goals from Real were, I’m afraid to say, two mistakes from Manuel Neuer. But the match before he was brilliant, and he was good in the second half of the second leg in Munich. I think he’s still having fun, and I heard that if he’s still enjoying himself, he’ll want to do another year at Bayern. We have to see! He’s set to become a father again; his wife’s pregnant with his second child. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t want to play the World Cup. Perhaps he wants to be a family guy. But I think, as we saw yesterday in the match against Real Madrid, Neuer’s having so much fun that he could very well play one more year.

Uğurcan Çakır is on Bayern’s list

✅ **It is TRUE: Uğurcan Çakır is on Bayern’s goalkeeper shortlist.**The Bundesliga leaders have a list that also includes Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Daniel Heuer Fernandes (Hamburg) and Marvin Schwäbe (FC Köln). Çakır, the national goalkeeper of Turkey, is playing for Galatasaray. You have to know that Michael Rechner, the goalkeeping coach at Bayern, used to work with Uğurcan Çakır at the Turkish national team. The two guys are calling each other, they know each other, they like each other. I think he is on the mind at Bayern Munich, but to be honest, he’s not a No.1, and he wouldn’t be a No.2 behind Jonas Urbig. So we have to see what he’ll do in the future.

Sacha Boey could make Galatasaray stay permanent

✅ **It is TRUE: Galatasaray are leaning towards exercising a buy option for Sacha Boey.**It would be nice for Bayern Munich, as he has a release clause of €15m [£13m]. Bayern paid €30m [£26.1m] to Galatasaray to sign him in 2024, so this would be some money back. It’s better than the situation of Joao Palhinh at the moment, as Bayern don’t know if Tottenham will pay the clause of €30m-35m [£26.1m-30.4m]. Perhaps, they’ll go down, and then they won’t have the money for him. Either way, it would be nice to get €15m for Boey.

Do Man Utd want Maycon Cardozo?

❌ **It is****NOT TRUE: Manchester United want to sign Maycon Cardozo.**It’s true that they know him – they sent scouts to watch the teenager. He’s a really interesting guy. Cardozo hasn’t had a normal career. He’s a member of Bayern’s World Squad initiative. They scout talents all over the world and put them in a team. The Brazilian played in Thailand, and now he’s at Bayern Munich. We have to see what happens with him, but at the moment, I don’t think United will sign him in the summer.

It’s hard to say what his potential looks like. Cardozo’s not a big guy; he needs to work on his body. But he’s talented! Perhaps Bayern will look to send the 17-year-old out on loan. Perhaps he’ll get a chance if Bayern doesn’t end up signing wingers this summer.

Man City want to sign Givairo Read

✅ **It is TRUE: Manchester City have joined the race for Givairo Read and are prepared to go toe-to-toe with Bayern Munich.**It’s a hard punch for Bayern Munich, as they’ve known the player for a long time. They were in talks, they want him, and they’d like to bring him to Munich. But if the price rises, then things are getting difficult, as they don’t really want to pay more than €30m. For Bayern Munich, that’s a lot of money for a right back.

If Manchester City were to come to the table and make a bid, this could complicate things for the club. FC Bayern do want to sign Read, but they don’t absolutely need him, to be honest. They have many players who can play this position, like Konrad Laimer and Josip Stanišić. There are options, and perhaps they’ll think it might be a better plan to spend the bulk of the available money on the frontline. We’ll see!

Alphonso Davies and Man Utd talks?

❌ **It is****NOT TRUE: Manchester United have held talks over signing Alphonso Davies this summer.**This hasn’t been confirmed as of yet. I know Bayern Munich would be open to discussing a deal, on the condition that it was a good deal for the club. That’s because Davies has a really good salary (around €20m) and he’s often injured. But I also know that Vincent Kompany loves this player! Before the season, when they were in contract talks with the Canadian, the head coach made it absolutely clear that he needed Davies (specifically his speed to support his coaching philosophy). So, it’s hard to give the left-back away. If he’s again on the pitch and doing his job, then it’s getting hard for any club to sign him. But at the moment, there is a door open.

Kennet Eichhorn to remain in German football

I know Kennet Eichhorn has yet to make a concrete decision about his future. He’s so young and it’s a big step from Hertha to a Bundesliga club, but it’s a much bigger step to go to England. I don’t have fresh information on the subject, as he doesn’t yet know what he’s going to decide. However, if you ask me what my feeling is, I think Eichhorn will stay in the Bundesliga to help his development instead of going to England. So, for the moment, better chances for the German clubs!

Angelo Stiller to the Premier League

It was a difficult situation when Angelo Stiller first left Bayern Munich as an academy product. He left without a transfer fee as a young player, a Munich player – that was hard for Bayern to take! Of course, at the moment, they have Pavlović, Kimmich, Bischof, Laimer… they have a good midfield. So, I don’t think it’s a hard pill for Bayern to swallow if he ends up moving to another club again. There is a lot of interest in Stiller from the Premier League; Manchester United are concretely interested. The Red Devils were there last summer but didn’t clinch a deal because they came too late in the transfer window. But this could be a serious option for them this summer.

The 25-year-old has a release clause in his contract (€37.5m [£32.6m]), but VfB Stuttgart can buy this option from Stiller (for an amount between €2m-4m). Then, they’d have the idea of selling the midfielder for €50m [£43.5m]. There are a lot of things that could happen, but I can say that there’s still a chance Stiller would leave Stuttgart in the summer. He’s one of the important players, and Stuttgart are already scouting a potential replacement in Southampton’s Casper Jander (23). He played before for FC Nürnberg. Now he’s playing for Southampton in the Championship.

Chelsea won’t give up on Said El Mala

✅ **It is TRUE: Brighton are in the lead for Said El Mala.**But it could be that other interested clubs still have a chance in this race, like Newcastle and Chelsea. That’s because the Brighton offer was about €35m plus €4m in add-ons, and Cologne want €50m. If they don’t get this money, perhaps they’ll be open to talking with Chelsea again. This could happen. At the moment, the way is clear – El Mala looks very likely to be playing Premier League football next season. Now we have to see whether he ends up at Brighton, which is the current plan, or if FC Köln say it won’t work because of the money on the table.