Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has confirmed a meeting concerning a move for Jadon Sancho to Manchester United did take place, but the teenager had "no intention" of making the switch in the summer.

Sancho, 19, enjoyed a breakout season with Dortmund in the Bundesliga in 2018-19, when he netted 12 goals and provided 14 assists:

Unsurprisingly, that led to him being linked with a number of Europe's top clubs, including United and Real Madrid.

Zorc has now said there was contact with United but never any movement toward Sancho leaving the Westfalenstadion, per Amazon Prime documentary Inside Borussia Dortmund (h/t James Westwood of Goal):

"A hot topic right now is Sancho and Manchester United. Both his discussions with the club and mine with the consultants. A meeting did take place. Manchester United invited the consultant. But, according to what I know, the consultant told the club that no matter how much money they offer, we won't let him go this summer. But the player also has no intention of taking that step this summer."

At the start of 2019-20, Sancho has picked up where he left off last term. In three Bundesliga games this season, he has scored twice and provided three assists as BVB have beaten Augsburg and Koln and lost to Union Berlin.

In England's 5-3 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying win over Kosovo on Tuesday, Sancho then netted a double, his first senior international goals in his eighth appearance for the Three Lions:

Sancho moved to Dortmund from Manchester City in 2017 after being denied first-team opportunities by manager Pep Guardiola. It has proved a savvy move, as he has been allowed to flourish at Dortmund, where he has a contract until 2022.

In all likelihood, the likes of United and Real will attempt to sign Sancho again next summer, and Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has said he knows the Englishman will not stay in the Bundesliga forever.

Dortmund will know, though, that the longer Sancho continues to perform at such a high level for them, the bigger the transfer fee they can demand. He is likely already worth more than most European clubs could afford.

City, United and Real are among those who have the financial clout to meet just about any fee Dortmund might demand, and if he is destined for a return to Manchester, Old Trafford seems the more likely destination.

City's attacking options are so plentiful that Sancho may again find his playing time limited despite how good his form has been in Germany. At United, though, he could be a superstar, especially if manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finds this season that Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Daniel James and Mason Greenwood do not constitute a title-challenging attacking unit.

Philippe Coutinho has revealed Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told him he was "happy" to see him join Bayern Munich on loan from Barcelona this summer.

Coutinho left Liverpool for Barca in January last year for €160 million (£147 million), but he signed for Bayern in August after struggling for form during his time at the Camp Nou.

The Brazilian told Sport Bild (h/t Goal) of Klopp: "He sent me a message and wished me good luck. He told me that Bayern is a big club and the Bundesliga is a great competition. He said he is very happy to see me there."

"He is simply an amazing coach, one of the best in the world," Coutinho added. "He is a true leader. I learned so much from him, especially on a psychological level."

Football writer Manuel Veth shared more of the playmaker's comments:

Following Coutinho's move, Klopp said the Reds did not have the ability to bring him back to Anfield:

Bayern paid a loan fee of €8.5 million (£7.8 million) to secure his capture in the summer, as well as shouldering all of his wages, and they'll have the option to make his stay permanent at the end of the season for €120 million (£110 million).

Coutinho contributed 54 goals and 45 assists in 201 games for Liverpool. At Barcelona, he returned 21 goals and 11 assists in 76 matches.

As sports writer Andy West observed, he struggled to settle at the Camp Nou:

The 27-year-old will hope the move to Bayern can reignite his career while he's still in his prime.

Per Veth, he believes the physicality of German football suits him, as it did in the Premier League, more than in La Liga or Serie A.

Bayern lost attacking midfielder James Rodriguez in the summer at the end of his loan spell from Real Madrid, while wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben left the club.

As such, there's plenty of scope for him to hold down a place in the No. 10 position or out wide if he can return to the kind of form that earned him his move to Barcelona.  

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he advised Philippe Coutinho that Bayern Munich would be a "good fit" for him.

Coutinho moved to the Bundesliga champions from Barcelona in the summer, leaving the Camp Nou on a temporary basis just 18 months after his transfer from the Reds.

Speaking about his former player, Klopp said he encouraged Coutinho to make the switch to the Allianz Arena and noted the Reds were not able to fund a possible move for the player, per Bild (h/t Danny Gallagher of MailOnline).

"I personally told him that Bayern and him would be a good fit," he said. "He's a world-class player and a really good signing for Bayern—and the Bundesliga. ... We'd already spent all the money we got for him. I have already told him in person that he and Bayern will be a good fit."

Coutinho has only made two appearances for his new club. His first start, in which he was on the field for 67 minutes, came in Bayern's 6-1 demolition of Mainz before the international break.

Barcelona confirmed that Bayern do have an option in their loan agreement to buy Coutinho for a fee of €120 million (£107 million), while the German champions will shell out €8.5 million (£7.5 million) to take the player on loan for the season.

Although Coutinho struggled to make a consistent impression at Barca, the team performed better when he was in the side. He offered a regular creative presence when afforded a chance:

What frustrated those who frequent the Camp Nou was the midfielder's penchant for clinging on to the ball too long and the poor decision-making he frequently showed when he ventured into the final third.

By contrast, at Liverpool under Klopp, Coutinho was one of the most feared attacking players in the Premier League, as he was capable of unlocking defences with his silky dribbling and eye for a pass. 

The Brazilian also showed a penchant for spectacular goals during his time at Anfield, with his shooting from distance a trademark of his play:

He was only able to occasionally conjure these types of moments for Barcelona:

Bayern opted against signing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid after his two-year loan spell, while Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben also left in the summer. It meant there was a void of creativity in the side, something that Coutinho will be tasked with filling.

After a challenging time at Barcelona, the former Liverpool man will be hopeful of rediscovering the form he showcased on Merseyside. Klopp, who was arguably able to draw the best from the Brazil international, appears to be confident a switch to Munich is the right move for the player.

A former youth coach of Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho believes the youngster is only scratching the surface of his potential, and he can become a "maverick" player for England.

Louis Lancaster, who worked with the 19-year-old at Watford and is now manager of Chinese Taipei, told Sky Sports' Ron Walker he hasn't even shown one tenth of what he's capable of:

"I think he's going to continue to surprise people. His game is so fast-paced, it's very direct. When a player gets the ball, they've got a soft option, get the stats up, make the simple pass, or you can make it 75 per cent of the time but everything's forward. What you're seeing from Jadon is a 19-year-old boy with a lot of maturity.

"It's great that Gareth Southgate is giving the youth a chance, other countries use these flair players because they trust them—they can be a hero or a villain. They might not track that runner or something like that, but when it's the 89th minute, they might produce something magical.

[…] "I worked on my Pro Licence on 'what is a maverick? How do you get the best out of them?' I interviewed managers, players and mavericks themselves—and I interviewed Jadon. Even when he was younger he was completely fearless, and he always wanted to be the best player.

[…] "I'm extremely proud of what he's doing, but I don't even think you've seen one tenth of what's to come. He's going to keep pushing and pushing and pushing."

The star winger has started the Bundesliga campaign in fine form, scoring two goals and adding three assists already.

His dribbling and ability to create chances have been on full display:

Last season, he scored 12 goals and recorded 14 assists in the Bundesliga, but he already looks like he will smash those marks in the 2019-20 campaign.

The speedster's development has been incredible in the last few seasons. After leaving Manchester City for Dortmund in 2017, he broke out in a big way the following year and made his England debut in October 2018.

Here are his highlights from last season:

He'll contend for a starting position in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo, beginning against the former on Saturday. Competition for spots is fierce, with Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford having already proved their worth on the international stage.

Sterling is also coming off a fantastic season, scoring 17 Premier League goals, and he carries excellent form into the international break. In four outings, he has netted five times.

England have won both of their qualifying matches so far with ease, beating Czech Republic and Montenegro by a combined score of 10-1. Bulgaria sit in last place in Group A and are not expected to put up much resistance, while Kosovo have five points after three matches.

Kai Havertz is content to spend another season with Bayer Leverkusen after failing to secure a move this summer, despite rumoured interest from several of Europe's top clubs, including Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester United. 

However, Havertz hasn't ruled out moving on a year from now, per Sky Germany (h/t Metro's Coral Barry):

"They haven't scared me off. I don't know exactly what it was like with Timo [Werner], but it just didn't happen for me this year. I think there were a number of reasons why. But I'm happy to be here and stay in Leverkusen for another year. We'll see what will happens next summer."

Havertz referenced Timo Werner's summer of speculation after the RB Leipzig forward was heavily linked with Bayern and Liverpool this summer. Werner eventually signed a new contract with Leipzig but told Sport Buzzer (h/t Mark Jones of the Daily Mirror) he doesn't "exclude anything" when asked about the possibility he could still join another club in the near future.

Speculation on this level is something Havertz is used to after the 20-year-old was linked with Liverpool, Bayern and Barcelona. Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller recently explained why a move to Munich didn't happen:

Havertz was also said to be attracting interest from Manchester United and Arsenal, according to Sport1 (h/t Charlie Malam of the Daily Express).

However, it sounds as though interest closer to home could be the strongest, after Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus recently declared his admiration for the goalscoring attacking midfielder:

Reus and Havertz are both on international duty with the Germany squad, helping Die Mannschaft prepare for a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier against the Netherlands on Friday.

Havertz justifies such a long queue of suitors thanks to his prolific recent form in the Bundesliga. He helped himself to 20 goals and six assists in the German top flight and UEFA Europa League last season.

He's already found the net twice in as many matches to start this campaign. Havertz scored during a 4-1 win over Alemannia Aachen in the DFB-Pokal first round last month, before adding a goal against Paderborn in Leverkusen's league opener.

Thanks to his pace, technique and vision, Havertz is forming a goal-happy attack with Leon Bailey, Kevin Volland, Karim Bellarabi and Charles Aranguiz. He is playing in a team geared to helping him continue amassing goals and assists and ultimately encouraging greater interest from more clubs on the continent.

It will be a shock if Leverkusen manage to keep their prize asset beyond next summer.

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng has been charged with assault after allegedly attacking his former partner, German prosecutors told Agence France-Presse. 

Chief prosecutor Anne Leiding told AFP subsidiary SID the investigation into the allegations began in 2018: "The Munich prosecutor's office has had proceedings open against Jerome Boateng for dangerous assault since autumn 2018. Following extensive investigations, charges were brought on February 11, 2019."

According to Sueddeutsche Zeitung (h/t Matt Maltby of the Mirror), a law firm representing Boateng denied the allegation: "It is a private matter, which is basically based on unproven accusations of a third party."

Prosecutors also confirmed the former Manchester City player is the subject of another assault investigation, per SID. The other allegation is reportedly being made by the same former partner, who is also the mother of his three children, per Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

Boateng is a former UEFA Champions League and FIFA World Cup winner but has yet to break into Bayern's starting XI this season.

Germany coach Joachim Low announced in March he would no longer consider Boateng for his squad, along with Mats Hummels and Thomas Muller, with the manager opting to put his faith in the next generation of burgeoning talent, per Metro.

Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho has called on supporters to stop aiming racist abuse at footballers.

The 19-year-old's comments come after Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was racially abused by Cagliari fans on Sunday.

Per the Daily Mail's Dominic King, Sancho said:

"It just has to stop. No player wants to play football and have abuse like that. It puts the confidence down in players and the love of the sport will go very soon if it doesn't stop. Everyone should be happy and do what they are doing without receiving racial abuse."

Lukaku is the latest high-profile footballer to suffer such abuse this season.

Manchester United duo Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford and Chelsea's Tammy Abraham have also been abused on social media after missing penalties for their sides.

Blues defender Kurt Zouma was abused after he scored an own goal in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Sheffield United on Sunday.

Anti-discrimination organisation Kick It Out released a statement:

"I don't think it is social media," Sancho added. The Dortmund starlet urged fans to remember players are "still only human" and suggested there is a perception among some supporters that footballers' fame makes them immune to abuse.

"We just love the sport and just want to play," he continued. "It is hard to see things like this because it feels like 'why should we play football?' I felt that Romelu Lukaku handled it really well by not reacting and carrying on playing."

Lukaku took to Instagram on Monday to condemn the abuse he received at Cagliari:

Moise Kean was similarly abused by Cagliari supporters while playing for Juventus there in April. Bianconeri midfielder Blaise Matuidi said he was racially abused at the Sardinian club last year, while racist chants were also aimed at Inter's Samuel Eto'o in 2010.

ESPN's Matteo Bonetti called for Cagliari and all clubs to improve their ability to identify and ban those in the stadium abusing players:

Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette gave his take on what can be done to tackle the issue online:

According to Martyn Ziegler of The Times, Twitter will monitor the accounts of around 50 high-profile black footballers in its efforts to combat abuse.

The social media platform is also being more "proactive" in reviewing racist tweets, where previously it would only do so when they had been reported.

Niko Kovac was pleased with how Philippe Coutinho performed on his first start for Bayern Munich but knows there is more to come from the Barcelona loanee.

Coutinho, who arrived from the Camp Nou on a season-long loan two weeks ago, played 67 minutes of Bayern's 6-1 win over Mainz at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.

The playmaker wasn't in on the goals, but he still did enough to catch his manager's eye. Kovac talked up what Coutinho did and how he'll get better, per Bundesliga.com (h/t Goal's Josh Thomas):

"We want to build Philippe up and the opportunity presented itself here at home to put him in the starting line-up. He had some good moments, especially on the ball. He played one or two really good passes in behind the defence and we created a great chance from one of them."

"We know he's not 100 per cent fit yet, so we planned to give him 60 to 70 minutes here. He'll regain his fitness by playing. I'm happy with his performance, but I know he'll improve."

Coutinho has echoed the words of his boss and is already targeting improvement after an indifferent spell at Barca. He spoke to the same source and saluted how the quality of Bayern's squad will help him: "There are a lot of good players, top players and great players (here). I'm really happy to be here so that I can learn from them and get better."

The Brazil international will be aware of the challenge facing him if he's going to make the grade in Munich. He was replaced by Thomas Muller against Mainz, one of the cornerstones of the success Bayern have enjoyed, both domestically and in Europe, throughout this decade.

His introduction underlined the strength of the competition for places in Kovac's squad.

Success on the home front appears set to continue after Die Roten swept Mainz aside with six different goalscorers. The result has put Bayern second following a 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin and a 3-0 win away to Schalke 04, a game in which Coutinho made his club debut off the bench.

Benjamin Pavard, David Alaba, Kingsley Coman, Robert Lewandowski, Alphonso Davies and Ivan Perisic all found the net. The latter is another loan capture this summer, having arrived from Inter Milan.

While Perisic is tasked with offering industry and a goal threat from wide areas, Coutinho will be expected to add flair in the middle. It's something he struggled to do during his time with Barca, where the former Liverpool man was often overshadowed by Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele.

At his best, Coutinho can give Bayern something the club lost this summer, namely a natural No. 10. James Rodriguez filled the role at times last season before the Colombian's loan spell from Real Madrid came to an end.

Coutinho has no shortage of players to supply at Bayern. Lewandowski, along with wide forwards Serge Gnabry and Coman, will all benefit from Coutinho's vision and technique.

He'll also combine well with Thiago Alcantara in the engine room. Both have the ingenuity and artistry to form the creative heartbeat of Kovac's team.

Messi usually owned that role at Barca, while there was rarely another natural technician alongside Coutinho in the middle once Andres Iniesta had moved to Japan. Now that he's in Munich, Coutinho has everything he needs to revive his career and get back to his pre-Barcelona brilliance.

Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac has hailed loan signing Philippe Coutinho as a "superstar" ahead of the team's Bundesliga showdown with Mainz on Saturday.

After a difficult 18 months at Barcelona, the Brazilian recently joined the Munich club on loan for the 2019/20 campaign. He made his debut in the 3-0 win over Schalke on Saturday, coming off the bench and impressing with some sharp pieces of play.

Bayern are back at the Allianz Arena for their third game of the season, and supporters will be keen to see their new signing make his full debut.

Kovac has praised Coutinho's talent and temperament ahead of that encounter:

Kovac isn't the only key figure at Bayern to have talked up the talents of the Brazilian. Robert Lewandowski, who scored a hat-trick in the win over Schalke, said Coutinho's end product is "insane" in a recent interview with Sport Bild (h/t Elliott Bretland of Goal).

"He can give us that something special," the Poland striker continued. "It makes us more unpredictable, which makes us more dangerous."

Coutinho has clearly made a big impact at his new club already. Bayern shared the following footage of some of his first days as a Munich player:

After it was confirmed the midfielder would be joining Barcelona from Liverpool in January 2018, Coutinho and the Blaugrana appeared to be a match made in heaven.

The playmaker was renowned for his close control, dribbling skill and ability to conjure spectacular moments in the final third. However, he failed to settle at the Camp Nou, and his performances were littered with inconsistency.

As such, it wasn't a huge surprise to see Coutinho move to Bayern in an attempt to recharge his career. Barcelona confirmed that Bayern paid €8.5 million (£7.7 million) to take the midfielder on loan for the year, and the German champions can make the deal permanent for a fee of €120 million (£109 million).

After a torrid 2018/19, Coutinho will be hoping he can build on a strong summer, during which he was one of Brazil's best players in their Copa America success:

Bayern performed well in their 3-0 win over Schalke, with the peerless Lewandowski well supported by Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller. With that in mind, Coutinho may have to wait for his first start of the Bundesliga season.

An international break follows the next fixture, and that will give Coutinho more chances to get minutes under his belt with the Selecao. Bayern face a tough match away at RB Leipzig when domestic football returns, and it's the type of game Kovac may have had in mind when the club brought in Coutinho.    

Former Borussia Dortmund assistant coach Hendrie Kruzen has revealed the Germans tried to sign Juventus star Matthijs de Ligt in 2017.

Kruzen has worked as an assistant to Peter Bosz since his Maccabi Tel Aviv days, following him to Ajax, Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen. In an interview with Goal's Jochen Tittmar and SPOX, he opened up on what went wrong at the Signal Iduna Park and how they tried to move for De Ligt:

"Maybe one [the club] should have kept a little more calm. They [the Dortmund hierarchy] saw that the style they wanted to play could work [under Bosz and Kruzen], especially after the great start. Of course, there were also personal reasons.

"When Lukasz Piszczek got injured, we had to make a lot of changes in the defence. Maybe we should have pushed for a high-profile new signing that summer.

"Unfortunately, when we had that difficult phase, as is often the case in professional football, we did not have the time to sort it out and to get new players in in the winter.

"We were already in talks with some of them, and those players were of a high calibre, even for a club like BVB. I don't know whether they would've definitely signed or not, but one of them went from Ajax to Juventus for a lot of money this summer."

Kruzen also placed De Ligt among the most talented players he has ever worked with, alongside Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Frenkie de Jong.

Bosz coached BVB for just five months in 2017, before he was replaced by Peter Stoger following a poor run of results.

De Ligt made his senior debut for Ajax during the 2016-17 campaign, quickly establishing himself as a star of the future. The centre-back started the UEFA Europa Cup final against Manchester United at the end of the season, despite being just 17 years old.

Transfer speculation soon started to surface, but he wouldn't leave the Netherlands until the summer of 2019, signing for Juventus.

Despite being the club's marquee signing, he started their first Serie A match of the season, against Parma, on the bench.

That came as a surprise to him, per AD (h/t Football Italia):

Juventus won 1-0 thanks to a goal from star defender Giorgio Chiellini, who paired with Leonardo Bonucci in a shutout performance:

Dortmund purchased another talented youngster during the 2018 January transfer window, investing in FC Basel's Manuel Akanji. The 24-year-old has developed into one of the Bundesliga's best centre-backs and is Mats Hummels' regular playing partner.

In Dan-Axel Zagadou and Leonardo Balerdi, BVB have plenty more young talent at the position.