Borussia Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan says his former teammate Douglas Costa will have a hard time conquering a spot in Bayern Munich's squad.
The two played together at Shakhtar Donetsk from 2010-2013 before Mkhitaryan moved to Germany, where Costa will debut for Bayern next season after a €30 million move this summer.
"Bayern has many extraordinary footballers, that won't be easy for him," Mkhitaryan told kicker. "But he will do everything to take his chance and conquer a spot in the team."
Shakhtar coach Mircea Lucescu also said this week that Costa "is not yet strong enough for Bayern."
Costa's difficult task might be made a little easier by the fact that it is still uncertain when Franck Ribery will return. Medical tests showed that his ankle has to be kept immobilised. But Ribery is confident to win back his starting position after his return.
"Nothing but this injury can stop me," he told Sportbild. "When I am fit, I will play."
Mkhitaryan said he felt happy because Costa got the opportunity to play at Bayern.
"I like him a lot," the Armenian said, before going on to praise Costa's abilities. "Douglas Costa is a fantastic player with a good technique and he is pretty quick."
Meanwhile, Javi Martinez is back in the Bayern team training after recovering from a knee injury that cost him almost the complete last season, and he is already playing a central role in Pep Guardiola's plans.
"I missed him a lot," Guardiola told Abendzeitung. "He can play many positions. He was very important during the triple season under Jupp Heynckes."
Last season, Martinez achieved a triple of a different kind. He only managed to play one game each in Bundesliga, Champions League and the German Super Cup.
"You feel like an invalid, because you can't do anything" Martinez said, looking back on his time at the sick bay. "You spend your whole day at home with a machine that stretches your knee. You don't feel like a footballer anymore."
Bild reports that Dante has been told by the Bayern officials that he should look for a new club. But he got a minor muscle injury during his holidays when he played "foot-volley," a mix of football and beach volleyball. He should be back in team training next week.