Yesterday, Bild reported that Chelsea were working on sending David Luiz to Bayern Munich in exchange for a pile of cash and out of favor forward Mario Mandzukic. Today, Pep Guardiola reinforced just how out of favor Mandzukic is, confirming that he won't be in the 18-man squad to face Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday.
As far as the Chelsea rumor is concerned, this move probably doesn't mean a whole lot. Guardiola clearly isn't a big fan of Mandzukic anyway, and with the imminent arrival of Robert Lewandowski, the Croatian was always to be departing during the summer transfer window. Being dropped for the final match of the season probably doesn't change the circumstances at all, though it assures he'll at least make it through the end of the club season without picking up a serious injury.
I'm still a bit skeptical that Thursday's Bild story has legs, just because those sorts of swap deals almost never actually happen. I'm sure Jose Mourinho will have interest in Mandzukic, I'm sure he'll be available, and someone's front line will look a lot better next year with him in the mix. Whether or not that club happens to be Chelsea is something we'll have to wait to see, but there won't be any shortage of suitors.