With the January transfer window coming to a close soon, we look at some of the movements, rumours and denials coming out of Germany.
RODRIGUEZ STAYS PUT
James Rodriguez "will be staying at Bayern Munich until the end of the season at least" and not joining Arsenal or Napoli this month.
The 27-year-old Colombian playmaker, who is on a two-year loan spell at Bayern from Real Madrid, has not played as often under coach Niko Kovac this season.
He also missed six Bundesliga and two Champions League matches after rupturing knee ligaments in November, only returning to the Bayern side in their win over Hoffenheim last Friday.
Bayern pushing for
City’s young gun
Bayern Munich are taking a look at yet another British youngster, with the German side set to launch a £10 million bid for Manchester City’s Rabbi Matondo.
The Bundesliga giants have been involved in a high-profile pursuit of Chelsea academy graduate Callum Hudson-Odoi this month, and are also reportedly keen on the Welshman.
According to The Sun, they are looking to take advantage of the 18-year-old’s contract situation at The Etihad, with talks between the youngster and those in charge ongoing.
His current contract lapses next year, and Bayern have sought to test City’s desire to keep hold off the Wales international with an opening bid.
Matondo, who is faster than any member of Pep Guardiola’s squad according to end-of-season testing last year, was handed his Wales debut by Ryan Giggs last November, when he was promoted from the Under-19 side to face Albania in a friendly match.
Speaking after the game, the City youngster spoke of his desire to use it as a platform to break into first team football.
"I’m sure playing for my country and against top international players will help me at club level," Matondo said.
"The whole world is watching and if I can do it on the international stage, it will show that I can do it at my club.
"It’s always been the aim to break through at club and international level," he added.
The progress made in Germany by the likes of Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson has made Germany’s top flight an attractive prospect for young British players who are seeking more first team opportunities.
Sancho left City for Borussia Dortmund in 2017 after concluding that opportunities to play regularly at the highest level would be more frequent in mainland Europe.
That thought process is also behind the tug-of-war between Bayern and Chelsea over Hudson-Odoi.
Bayern have seen their advances knocked back by the Blues, although it is understood that the 18-year-old is ready to turn down an £85,000-a-week contract at Stamford Bridge to secure a move away.
REUS GOOD TO GO
Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus appears to be fit again and ready to return for the Bundesliga leaders’ match against Hanover on Saturday.
“I will definitely be ready for the next game against Hanover,” the Dortmund captain Reus told yesterday’s Bild newspaper.
Reus, 29, missed Dortmund’s first game after the winter break, a 1-0 win at RB Leipzig, after twisting his ankle in training last Friday.
Reus has scored 11 goals and also has seven assists as Dortmund top the table six points ahead of champions Bayern Munich going into the match against second-last Hanover.
AND SPEAKING OF HANOVER...
Hanover have denied German media reports that coach Andre Breitenreiter is on his way out at the relegation-threatened Bundesliga club.
Breitenreiter “will be on the bench on Saturday in Dortmund”, club manager Horst Heldt said in Hanover on Monday.
Club president Martin Kind said he was “surprised by the headlines” after several German media outlets on Sunday reported that the 45-year-old coach would be dismissed.
Hanover began the resumption of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 home defeat to Werder Bremen.
They are now without a win in seven games, leaving them second last on 11 points with basement dwellers Nuremberg.
Former Hanover striker Breitenreiter returned to the club as coach in March 2017 and celebrated promotion from the second division two months later. After staying up last season his contract was extended until 2021.