Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 10y

Bayern rule out signing Julian Draxler

Bayern Munich do not want to sign Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler, according to club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Schaaf: Bayern leave it late

Draxler, 20, has a 45.5 million euro release clause in his contract, and has been linked with a move away from the Royal Blues for some time.

During the January transfer window, Arsenal came close to signing the Germany international but had an offer turned down.

Draxler has since been linked with a move to Bayern, and in February he did not rule out a move to the European champions.

However, in an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Rummenigge has moved to end speculation about a switch to the Allianz Arena for the youngster.

When asked whether Draxler wants to join Bayern, Rummenigge replied: “I don’t know. We have never talked to his agent about this,” he said. “I often get the impression that the public doesn’t fully understand our train of thought regarding our transfer policy. We don’t just buy players from Schalke 04 or [Borussia] Dortmund to hurt those clubs.

“We only sign players who immediately increase our quality. In the past, we sometimes bought ahead, because some players had reached the 30-year mark. We don’t do that anymore. I can rule out that we will sign Julian Draxler in the summer.”

Bayern, however, will bring in Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The impending arrival of the Poland international has raised doubts over the future of Mario Mandzukic.

However, Rummenigge told the paper that he hopes to convince the Bayern striker, who currently tops the Bundesliga scoring charts, to stay at the Bavarian club.

“I am aware that several clubs are interested in him. But I believe that he will stay beyond the summer,” Rummenigge said. “I’ve noted one thing recently: they [the players] rate FC Bayern highly. They are in a nice city, have a nice stadium, the best coach and the club has an international reputation.”

Bayern midfielder Xherdan Shariqi has also been linked with a move away from the club.

Following a week of speculation, the Switzerland international ruled out actively seeking an exit on Sunday, but added that “if a top club comes in, then you've got to consider it.”

Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer, though, told kicker at the weekend: “He is an important player for our future. We are not thinking about a transfer.”

Switzerland coach and former Bayern boss Ottmar Hitzfeld also urged the player to stay at the European champions.

“Shaqiri is at the best club in the world and he has what it takes to come out on top. He needs to be patient,” Hitzfeld told kicker.

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