Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Champions League winner Didi Hamann has offered his insight into this year's major contenders and whether Leverkusen can upset Arsenal, if Kane can emulate Lewandowski at Bayern Munich and an assessment of latest hot property at the club fellow midfielder Lennart Karl.
The ex- Germany international has also given his opinion on Jesse Lingard's latest move to Brazil and if Angelo Stiller could be the perfect man to replace Casemiro at Manchester United this summer.
Champions League
Major Contenders
Who are the biggest threats for Bayern Munich ? Arsenal probably got the easier half of the draw. But the big teams will be looking at each other. Having said that, as much as PSG and Real Madrid struggle at the moment, once you face them over two legs, you still have to beat them because they're still loaded with class players.
So, not being in form doesn't mean it's easy pickings when you play them. But I certainly think that the two most stable, even though Arsenal had a bit of a hiccup in recent weeks and don't score too many goals from open play, at the moment, you've got to say the two teams who finished one and two in the league phase look the most obvious to go deep and go far.
Can Leverkusen have Upset Arsenal?
It will be very tough for Leverkusen . I think they may have had a slight chance against Bayern Munich . I don't think they've got any chance against Arsenal in the Champions League . They huff and puff, got a late draw the other day, lost the week before, and now they play a game which was postponed because of snow two or three months ago, so they've got another midweek game before next week's last-16 game.
They haven't really progressed and improved as much as people thought. Obviously, they changed the manager. Eric ten Hag had to go after two games. Kasper Hjulmand had done a decent job, but I think they've kind of hit a brick wall now in the last few weeks. I'd be very surprised. Obviously, as I said, you still have to play because they've got some talented players. You still have to play the 180 minutes, but I'd be hugely surprised if they were to knock Arsenal out.
Bayern Munich
Can Kane Surpass Lewandowski?
Harry Kane is adored by the Munich faithful because Robert Lewandowski always had the tag that he was a bit selfish. I think he changed a little bit towards the end of his Bayern Munich career.
But Kane is just a team player; he drops into midfield, and he drops into defence when they need to defend. He's making tackles on the edge of the box, which Lewandowski never did. I think this is why he's so adored and loved by the Bayern Munich faithful. The Bundesliga goals record is one thing, but I think what they have to do they've got to go deep in the German league this season because Kane is not getting any younger. A lot of the big teams struggle. If you look at Liverpool , if you look at Madrid , if you look at Paris , they all have their problems.
A lot of them have been to the Club World Cup last summer, obviously Bayern Munich has been too, so you need to see whether it will affect them now towards the end of the season in terms of stamina. But I think they got a great chance this season, and I think that's way more important than Lewandowski's record. If they were to go deeper, even win the Champions League , I think he'll have a place in the heart of the Munich faithful forever.
Lennart Karl
I think Lennart Karl has been excellent. With Jamal Musiala coming back after Christmas, there's another place occupied. So a lot of the times when a change was made with half an hour to go, Musiala came on instead of him. So I think it affected his playing minutes a little bit. He didn't play at all in the last two games against Dortmund and Frankfurt .
I think he's an exceptional talent to do what he did at the age of 17. He turned 18 now. He's been very good, he's been tremendous. Sometimes you have a little bit of a quiet phase, I said. It coincides now with the return of Musiala , which doesn't help him. But I think we'll see plenty of him till the end of the season. Should he be in the World Cup squad? It’s a tricky one, a tricky one, because there's another player, Said El Mala, in Cologne , 19 years of age, he's making a lot of headlines. We can take 26.
He had that good spell before Christmas; there was talk, ' Karl never played for the national team, should he go to the World Cup ?' And I said at the time, 'I don't think we cannot take a player of his ability and quality to the World Cup. My view probably hasn't changed, even though he didn't play that much in the last few weeks. I think you have to find a place for him because he showed that he's a good sub, and not all players are good subs.
He changed games when he came on, and you know he will play games because in the league they're 11 points ahead, so he will play plenty in the Bundesliga , I would think. I think we'll see him at the World Cup.
Transfer Talk
Jesse Lingard
Jesse Lingard is 33 now. Given his age, I wouldn't say it's inherently risky, but there is a risk attached because Brazilian football is both physical as well as highly technical. As we know, they have very passionate fans. He is certainly not at the height of his powers at the moment, given his last clubs, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to South Korea and other places.
Having said that, if you ask me, looking back now, would he have liked to play in Brazil ? I probably would have said yes, because even though England is the home of football, there is probably no more fanatic football nation than Brazil . I think it will be a great experience for him, whether it's successful remains to be seen.
Stiller Replacement For Casemiro?
I think Angelo Stiller could do well for Man Utd . I think that there was interest from Real Madrid also. He's a very talented player, likes to have the ball. He's not really a ball-winner like Casemiro is or was. But he's a very smart player, reads the game well, and makes other players better. But I think there's competition in England with Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton , who know the league, which I would probably tend to go with.
It's probably easier for a holding midfielder or a central midfielder to adapt to the pace of the game because most of the time you've got a pitch in front of you, which is a lot easier than obviously receiving the ball with your back to goal. But yeah, he's a capable player, and it wouldn't be the worst choice.
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