Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic has ruled out a premature change from striker Robert Lewandowski. The question of whether it was an option to give the 33-year-old in the summer was denied by Salihamidzic on Sky90 on Sunday. Lewandowski has a contract until June 30, 2023, “that’s clear, we’re going to talk about what’s next”. Salihamidzic admitted that there have been no concrete negotiations with Lewandowski so far.
But recently he has repeatedly spoken to the striker in a relaxed manner. He experienced Lewandowski “absolutely relaxed. I don’t see that the fronts are hardening”. Lewandowski left his future open after winning the German championship on Saturday. After the 3-1 win against Borussia Dortmund, he announced a quick decision. “Something will happen soon, the only thing I know is that there will be a meeting,” said Lewandowski on Sky.
So far, “nothing special” has happened, he looks at the situation, “what’s going on. It’s not that easy for me,” added the Polish international meaningfully. You have “all the time in the world,” replied Salihamidzic. Lewandowski enjoys “greatest esteem”. On the other hand, the leading players Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller indicated that they would stay at Bayern beyond 2023. “Let’s see what happens. From today’s feeling it’s difficult to leave,” said Müller.
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You will “do it in peace, time is not of the essence,” said Captain Neuer. But he feels “well at Bayern. We have a team that has the potential to play in the Champions League”. Salihamidzic spoke of “very good talks”. He “very much” hopes for a contract extension: “Manu is just as much a part of FC Bayern as Thomas.” Bayern’s sporting director also confirmed negotiations with Ryan Gravenberch from Ajax.
At the same time, the Bayern boss demanded a clear increase in performance from Leroy Sané. “Leroy is an incredibly talented young man who has everything. He’s super fast, has dribbling and this mental strength. But now he has to come,” said Salihamidzic. Ex-Schalke Sané switched to Bayern in the summer of 2020 after four years at Manchester City for around 50 million euros. After Sané convinced after a long start-up period in the first half of the season, his performances fell off again in the second half.
“We were all happy when he had this body tension on the field, in training,” says Salihamidzic. He talked about it with Sané, tried it with caresses and plain text. “Then it has to bang on the pitch.” Not only the board and the coach, but also “the team expects Leroy to explode and to step on the gas in training and games,” Salihamidzic warned. “We always talk about potential. And I want to see potential on the pitch,” said Bayern’s sporting director. In the first half of the season, Sané decided games and it was fun to watch him. He is now lagging behind these achievements again. Sané has a contract with Bayern until June 30, 2025.