Hasan Salihamidzic shoots down talk of a winter transfer for Thomas Müller

Despite increased speculation that Thomas Müller may be looking for a new club after seeing his minutes at Bayern Munich significantly decrease this season, sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has said that no clubs have expressed interest in acquiring him. Speaking ahead of Bayern’s 2-1 win over Union Berlin, Salihamidzic told Sky Germany (via AZ) that there have been no official inquiries for Muller:

That’s a novel that you’re writing the whole time. We have two players with long-term injuries and you’re trying to talk us into giving someone up.

A winter transfer for Müller is “completely out of the question,” Salihamidzic said.

Following the 2-1 win over Union Berlin, Salihamidzic reiterated that no one has inquired about Müller. This time, his response was a bit more direct, possibly because Salihamidzic was annoyed to be pressed about Müller once again:

You really don’t think that we’re thinking about such a thing when we now have lost Niklas Süle and Lucas Hernandez. Müller has always conducted himself very well; that’s why it’s out of the question. We’re not talking about players that we want to give up.

Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bongarts/Getty Images

Thomas Müller also commented on the transfer rumors after starting and playing the full 90 minutes in the win over Union Berlin. In typical fashion, he addressed the subject with lighthearted humor, joking about the colder weather that’s soon to come in Munich:

I’ve heard that it’ll be colder here starting Monday. Then I’ll have a change of atmosphere here too. So let’s keep our feet on the ground. I’ll concentrate on playing.

For what it’s worth, Muller certainly made his presence felt for Bayern, having started both against Union Berlin and midweek against Olympiacos in the Champions League. The presence of Philippe Coutinho has made it difficult for Müller to find consistent minutes so far this season, but they both started alongside one another in Bayern’s past two victories, so there’s obviously some flexibility for Niko Kovac to start and play them both.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images