Bayern president Hoeness responds to Alexis Sanchez to Bayern rumours

Joe Wright

Bayern president Hoeness responds to Alexis Sanchez to Bayern rumours image

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has suggested it would be "unfeasible" to sign Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal.

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The Bundesliga champions have been heavily linked with a bid for the Chile international, who has just one year left to run on his contract in north London.

Manchester City are also widely reported to be at the front of the race for his signature, with the UK media suggesting that Pep Guardiola would be willing to sanction a transfer fee in excess of £50million and wages of more than £350,000 a week to land the former Barcelona man.

Hoeness says he is in the dark when it comes to the finer details of Bayern's transfer plans but he has admitted that they are unlikely to match such exorbitant wage demands.

"I'm not in the operational side. [Chairman] Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has not yet come to me, so the matter doesn't seem to be too urgent with him," he said, as quoted by Kicker.

"A €20 million salary is probably not feasible."

Former Bayern manager Ottmar Hitzfeld also believes a deal for Alexis is unlikely, and believes Die Roten have enough talent already in their squad.

"If you could get a Sanchez, someone would have to go back to the bank - that can create problems," Hitzfeld told t-online.de. "Bayern will be wondering if they really get someone else in this category.

"One must not forget that you have incredible players with Ribéry, Robben, Müller, Thiago, Lewandowski."

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Bayern at least appear unlikely to spend heavily on another forward unless Douglas Costa is sold in the transfer window.

Juventus have been tipped to sign the Brazil international but Hoeness says he will not be allowed to leave unless their asking price – reportedly €50m – is met.

"As long as he has not signed anywhere else, he'll return, and if the signing does not happen then he will start the season on August 18," said Hoeness.

"When a club comes and pays the sum that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has asked for, he will leave. We paid a lot of money so we want to get more."

Hoeness also refused to offer any guarantees over the future of Renato Sanches, who struggled to settle in his first season in Germany following his move from Benfica.

"It's a difficult question because Carlo Ancelotti is also under pressure to be successful. In the end, the player must be good enough," he said.

"He finished the European Championship last year, failed to prepare well and was injured for quite a long time."

Renato Sanches Bayern Munich Bundesliga

Lastly, Hoeness hinted that Bayern could launch another attempt to sign Leon Goretzka from Schalke in the wake of his fine performances for Germany at the Confederations Cup.

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"You can understand that I won't say anything about it, but Leon Goretzka has left a huge impression at this event in Russia. Everyone has seen his football," he said.

"If Carlo Ancelotti has said that the club has the option to be active again in the transfer market, then that is right, but the squad is already good enough. Both options are possible."

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.