Gladbach rebuffs Bayern interest in Sommer
Yann Sommer will not be sold to Bayern Munich, with Borussia Monchengladbach sporting director Roland Virkus vowing to keep the Switzerland international despite transfer speculation.… Show More
Yann Sommer will not be sold to Bayern Munich, with Borussia Monchengladbach sporting director Roland Virkus vowing to keep the Switzerland international despite transfer speculation.
The Bundesliga champion is in the market for a new goalkeeper after first-choice Manuel Neuer sustained a season-ending injury on holiday after the FIFA World Cup.
Sommer has been touted as a possible replacement, with Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic confirming the club's interest earlier this week.
Now though, Virkus has bluntly stressed there will be no exit to the Bavarian giant for the shotstopper – whose contract expires in June – during the January transfer window.
"We will not be giving up Yann Sommer," he said after Gladbach's friendly against Oldenburg.
"That is what we told Bayern as well. It is planned that he will be used in the last two friendlies."
Virkus' words strike a sharp contrast to those of Salihamidzic, though the Bayern official walked back his comments to an extent at a subsequent press conference.
Neuer was ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after he was involved in a skiing accident in the wake of Germany's dismal World Cup campaign.
It has left Bayern with Sven Ulreich and 19-year-old Johannes Schenk as the main goalkeeping options, leading the club to intensify a search for reinforcements.
It is top of the Bundesliga, four points ahead of Freiburg, and remains on course to defend its crown when the season restarts later this month.
