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Borussia Dortmund to Hold Lewandowski
This story has done the media circle, but it is worth announcing again. Dortmund have elected not to sell Robert Lewandowski this summer to FC Bayern, with SportBild quoting CEO Aki Watzke:
"Robert Lewandowski will definitely not make the switch to FC Bayern in 2013. That's final. We have informed Robert and his agents now."
–ESPN FC Translation
The timing of this is worth noting; this came just a few days after Lewandowski came out publically for the first time, saying he wants to go to his "Wunschverein," largely believed to be FC Bayern.
There was a feeling that this would happen, with Dortmund suits constantly saying that they will not sell the Polish striker. The positive of this is that Lewandowski can go wherever he wants after the 2014 season, and Bayern could do what Tottenham did with Lewis Holtby and sign him to a contract in the January transfer window.
By the same token, Süddeutsche Zeitung has not ruled out the possibility of Lewandowski going somewhere else, although the main objective is for Dortmund to keep Lewandowski. If Lewandowski's "Wunschverein" is Bayern, it looks like he'll be hard for another club to sign.
Juventus Added to Gómez Speculation
Mario Gómez has already expressed his desire, albeit through his agent Uli Ferber, to leave FC Bayern this summer, and now he might have another suitor.
According to Kicker, the Italian Champions could challenge AC Fiorentina for a bid for the German National Team striker. Ferber told Kicker that Juventus was a very attractive sporting destination for his client. Juventus has also been linked to Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain, so the speculation spectrometer is still very high on this story.
ESPN FC has already scanned the German media and found that €25 million is the asking price for Gómez, and that AC Fiorentina has already made a €20 million offer. With the arrival of Götze, the fact that Lewandowski is not coming this summer could not be enough of a reason not to sell Gómez.
That begs the question: with Lewandowski not coming, do you want Bayern to hold on to Gómez? Vote in the poll and comment below.
In Case You Missed It:
– Two French left backs now could be liked to FC Bayern. Phil Quinn already discussed the prospects of Éric Abidal coming to Munich, and Kicker has also mentioned Valencia's Jeremy Matthieu as a footnote in the Mario Gómez report. That begs the question, whether they are happy with the number of defenders they had last year with Hogler Badstuber out with a knee injury. Both French options can play out wide or in the center of the park, more versatility than Diego Contento gives right now. The Defender search is worth keeping an eye on.
– Franck Ribéry was already named the Bundesliga Player of the Year, and Kicker's annual player poll agrees, according to ESPN FC. Ribéry beat out Lewandowski and Bastian Schweinsteiger for the honor, while Manuel Neuer won Keeper of the Year and Jupp Heynckes lost out to Christian Streich for Coach of the Year. Over 228 players voted in the poll.
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