Niko Kovac has stressed Bayern Munich have no interest in selling Robert Lewandowski while ruling out a move for Croatia international Ante Rebic.
Lewandowski, who has scored 106 Bundesliga goals in four seasons with Bayern, has persistently been linked with a switch to Real Madrid.
But Kovac revealed he has spoken with the 29-year-old about his desire to keep him in Munich, and the player is happy to remain.
“It’s true that Robert and I had a conversation last week,” Kovac told Sport Bild.
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“Robert knows how I think about him and what I think of him. The whole club knows his qualities. He is certainly among the top three strikers in the world.
“We certainly will not give him up. That’s the statement I gave him. Robert accepted that. I really enjoyed that.”
One player who will not be joining Lewandowski at the Allianz Arena is Eintracht Frankfurt forward Rebic.
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Kovac was Rebic’s coach at Frankfurt, who he will face in his first official match in charge of Bayern on Sunday in the DFL-Supercup, and is an admirer but does not intend to pursue the 24-year-old.
“Ante is a strong personality and a great player who has developed brilliantly in the last two years at Frankfurt, and at the World Cup with Croatia,” Kovac added.
“But [a transfer] makes no sense. It doesn’t make sense today, and it won’t tomorrow.”