Robert Lewandowski to Man City? Pep Guardiola dismisses new transfer links amid Harry Kane saga

Robert Lewandowski fired Bayern Munich to German Supercup success this week
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George Flood20 August 2021

Pep Guardiola has dismissed any suggestion that Robert Lewandowski could join Manchester City this summer.

Transfer speculation involving the prolific Poland captain has greatly intensified over recent days amid reports that he is looking for a new challenge after a truly remarkable seven-year stint at Bayern Munich in which he has scored 297 goals in 331 appearances and won a plethora of major silverware including seven Bundesliga titles, the Champions League, three German Cups and the Club World Cup.

Lewandowski’s rumoured £100million price tag and significant wage demands would greatly limit the number of clubs that could make such a blockbuster deal financially viable, with City inevitably linked with a player who turns 33 this weekend and still has two years left to run on his current lucrative deal in Bavaria as they labour in their high-profile pursuit of England captain Harry Kane.

However, Guardiola - who previously worked with Lewandowski during his time in charge at Bayern - gave such speculation short shrift during a press conference held before Saturday’s clash with newly-promoted Norwich at Etihad Stadium.

“Next question,” he said when asked about the 32-year-old, who broke the late Gerd Muller’s record for goals in a single Bundesliga campaign last year and already has three to his name across all competitions this term - including a brace in Wednesday’s German Supercup win over Borussia Dortmund.

“Lewy is such an important player for Bayern Munich and he will stay at Bayern Munich.

“I’m not going to talk with 11 days left about the transfer market. I don’t know what’s going to happen, nobody knows.”

Defending Premier League champions City have made one big splash already in the transfer market this summer, landing England playmaker Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in a huge £100m deal.

However, their ongoing struggles to sign top target Kane are well-documented, with Spurs insistent that they will not sell their prize asset.

A failure to get Kane, Lewandowski or any other striker - added to the exit of Sergio Aguero - would leave Guardiola still with Gabriel Jesus as the only recognised senior striker in his squad moving forward, but the Catalan insists he is happy with his options as things stand.

“Absolutely - more than happy,” he said. “It’s the same team we had last season except for Sergio and for Jack.”

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