Who needs Lew: The day Legia snubbed Lewandowski

In the summer of 2008, Spanish forward Mikel Arruabarrena packed his bags and left to join Real Madrid's Tuesday evening opponents, Legia Warsaw.

At the time, the move would have pulled up no trees in the game, as Arruabarrena was just the latest Spaniard to head abroad, but what is less well known is that the Polish club's other striking option at the time was none other than Robert Lewandowski.

Now one of the best strikers in the world, the Bayern forward played for Legia B team in the 2005/06 season, but left the following year to join Znicz Pruszkow, where he was top scorer for two consecutive years.

It was there that several clubs showed an interest in signing him, including Legia.

The capital club already had another player in mind, however, in the form and then-Tenerife striker Arruabarrena, and upon completion of the deal contacted Znicz to drop their interest in Lewandowski.

"You can sell Robert to whoever you want. We have Arruabarrena," Miroslaw Trzeciak, Legia's sporting director, told Znicz.

Lewandowski eventually moved to Lech Poznan, where he impressed sufficiently to earn a transfer to Borussia Dortmund in 2010.

The rest, on that score, is history.

Arruabarrena, meanwhile, managed just 10 appearances, scoring no goals, before returning to Spain with Eibar.

A case of what might have been for Legia, then, who will no doubt be kicking at themselves as they watch Lewandowski banging in the goals across Europe.

More games: friv

Bayern Munich: Robert Lewandowski Rebounds from Poor Euro 2016 in Jena Rout

Bayern Munich strolled to the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Friday evening, hammering Carl-Zeiss Jena in a 5-0 rout.

The match was always going to be a struggle for the fourth-tier hosts, who haven't been in the professional (1. and 2.Bundesliga) German leagues since 2007-08 and were relegated to theRegionalliga Nordost in 2012.

And sure enough, Bayern found it to be a cakewalk. They went ahead inside three minutes and were 3-0 up at half-time, at which time they were stroking the ball about as though the game were a training exercise: Casual flicks and clever flair moves came at the expense of efficiency, which by that point was of little necessity. The game was over.

Bayern's win may have been as comfortable as it was expected, but the noteworthy story from the action was Robert Lewandowski's performance. The Poland international scored all three first-half goals, then assisted Arturo Vidal for Bayern's fourth after the break. Mats Hummels added a fifth in the 77th minute. 

Lewandowski indeed is Bayern's main striker. In fact, he's the only true striker in Carlo Ancelotti's squad. He was the focal point of the attack. But he also entered the match with a point to prove.

The Poland international had had a woeful Euro 2016. True, he scored a key goal against Portugal in the quarterfinals, but it wasn't enough to put his side through and was the only goal he scored at the tournament.

Lewandowski, who had scored 13 times in qualifying, was held scoreless against Northern Ireland, Germany, Ukraine and Switzerland. So much more was expected of Poland, especially their captain.

Prior to the Euros, there were some questions about Lewandowski's form and fitness. He seemed to get his groove back in May, but in the weeks prior, he was at least a touch below the elite standard he'd set in the fall. Perhaps he was tired, having hardly had a break due toBayern's dearth of depth in the striker position—he certainly looked so at the Euros.

It hasn't been long since Lewandowski and Poland exited the summer tournament in France; the player's time off was abbreviated. But after failing to get on the scoresheet in the DFL-Superpokal against his former club, Borussia Dortmund, Lewandowski put his best foot forward against Jena.

Sure, it was "only" a fourth-tier club that Lewandowski scored his goals against, but as the player himself noted after the game, that fact isn't of particular relevance.

"It's not so important whether it's the Bundesliga or the DFB Cup," he said, according to the official Bayern website. "People always expect goals from me."

Netting a hat-trick against Jena was particularly important forLewandowski on a psychological level, as it saw him overcome what could have been a mental block.

Strikers thrive on the confidence that comes with scoring: It's a cliche that a struggling striker can suddenly spring back into form after converting even a penalty, but it's a valid one. And so a Lewandowskihat-trick, even against Jena, could make all the difference. It could be the start of him roaring out of the gates to lead Bayern to success rather than struggling for form and the Bavarians being without a reliable striker for an indefinite period of time. 

Bayern scored 123 goals in total across all competitions last season, of which Lewandowski accounted for just over one third (42). Thus, it's safe to say the Polish striker is indispensable to Bayern and needed in good form if the German giants are to contend for glory in three competitions.  

Bayern's win over Jena on Friday may have been more or less a given, but the manner in which they won definitely was not.

It was, however, an encouraging result with positive implications for the state of their attack as the Bundesliga restart approaches, forLewandowski in particular. He was crowned the German top flight's top scorer last season, and despite his poor run during the summer, he looks back on track for success.

Bayern Munich is coming to America again. Here's what fans need to know.

With Euro 2016 in the rear-view mirror, Bayern Munich now prepares for a United States tour and the 2016-17 Bundesliga campaign.

May 21, Bayern Munich played its last game of the Pep Guardiola era, a scoreless draw against Borussia Dortmund in the finals of the German Cup (DFB Pokal); the Reds won 4-3 in penalties to lift the trophy.

On June 12, three weeks later, Germany played its first match in UEFA Euro 2016, the European Championships held every four years. The squad featured six Bayern regulars: goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, defenders Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels (a new acquisition), midfielder Mario Götze, and forward Thomas Müller. The Germans advanced to the semifinals before falling to France, for whom Bayern midfielder Kingsley Coman is a contributor.

Meanwhile, newly acquired young midfielder Renato Sanches played a key role in Portugal's shocking title run; he scored one of only two goals in Portugal's quarterfinal advancement over Poland. The other scorer: Poland's Robert Lewandowski, a Bayern star.

Defenseman David Alaba was probably Austria's biggest star before they got eliminated in group stage. Midfielder Thiago was on Spain's squad.

Across the Atlantic, Bayern midfielder Arturo Vidal was probably the best player on a Chile team that just won the Copa América Centenario. If not for injury, Bayern midfielder Douglas Costa would have had a feature role for Brazil's squad in the same tournament.

The Euro 2016 finals took place on Sunday, July 10. On July 20, Bayern will host Manchester City for a friendly. By July 25, Bayern will have flown to the United States to participate in the International Champions Cup. They will play AC Milan at Chicago's Soldier Field on July 27, Inter Milan at Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium on July 30, and Real Madrid at New York's MetLife Stadium on Aug. 3. (You can find the full ICC schedule here.)

On Aug. 14, they play Dortmund in the German SuperCup. On Aug. 26, the Bundesliga season begins.

There was an offseason somewhere in there. In European soccer, the offseason is more of a theory.

What's changed about Bayern's squad?

While their players have been off playing internationally, clubs themselves have continued their day-to-day activity. But Bayern hasn't been incredibly active, either with players in or out of the door. Backup midfield Sebastian Rode, who appeared in 38 matches over two seasons, left for Borussia Dortmund. Meanwhile, from Dortmund, they picked up Hummels, a 27-year old-defender who began his career with Bayern. And from Benfica, they added wonder kid Renato Sanches, who chose Bayern over Manchester United and others. Also: They got Pierre Højbjerg back from a season-long loan with sixth-place Schalke 04, then sold him to Southampton.

There are always transfer rumors floating around, and it wouldn't be a tremendous surprise if Götze or defender Mehdi Benatia were to end up sold to another club at some point. But that hasn't happened just yet, and attempting to parse transfer rumors for realistic tidbits is a challenge.

The biggest change, obviously, comes at manager, where Carlo Ancelotti will grace the sideline instead of Pep Guardiola, who left for Manchester City.

Guardiola's legacy in Munich is fascinating. In three seasons, Bayern won three Bundesliga titles; they have now won four titles in a row for the first time. In Pep's tenure, Bayern also won two of three German Cups and reached the Champions League semifinals in all three of his seasons.

But they never won the Champions League. In terms of quality, Guardiola accomplished nearly impossible consistency, but his tenure will forever feel slightly incomplete because it didn't finish with a European title. So there is one specific way that Ancelotti can top him.

Ancelotti has not necessarily had the league success that Guardiola has at Bayern and Barcelona, but if you're looking to secure the one thing Guardiola couldn't, Ancelotti is a bit of a ringer. He is the only manager to have won the Champions League three times (2003 and 2007 with AC Milan, 2014 with Real Madrid), and he has made the semifinals on three other occasions.

The 57-year-old former Roma and Milan striker sat out last year recovering from back surgery after his ouster from Real Madrid.

Actually, Renato Sanches deserves his own section.

Hummels is probably the most likely new acquisition to have an immediate impact, simply because of need. But Sanches is a fascinating addition.

We'll see what impact Sanches can have at Bayern in his first season; to say the least, Bayern's midfield is a bit crowded. Veterans Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben are both expected to be healthy when the season begins, Vidal is in peak form, Costa seized control of a regular spot last year, and I haven't yet mentioned Thiago, Coman, midfielder/attacker Götze, or midfielder/defender Kimmich.

When he hits the field, though, be sure you're watching.

At 18, he was the man of the match in Portugal's Euro quarterfinal win over Poland, a staggering feat. In his play, he never forgets to remind you he's 18 -- on the rare occasion that he is dispossessed, the odds are good that he's committing a foul within about six seconds -- but his skill and physicality are something else. With Sanches, Costa and Coman in the midfield, Bayern boasts three of the most exciting young players in European soccer.

Beyond all else, Bayern has further crafted a squad built around options. Guardiola took positional flexibility to almost comical levels at times, but whatever tactical shape Ancelotti craves, there are pieces for it.

Bayern doesn't have Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, and it bears mentioning that a team with one of these two players (along with, yes, quite a few other stars) on it has won the last three Champions League titles.

But in terms of long-term planning and the compilation of depth, no club has built itself to succeed, year after year, like Bayern Munich, and as good as Guardiola is, it certainly appears they are as much a threat to win Europe without him as with him.

Bayern is hitting the American markethard.

As a nod to its growing U.S. fanbase, Bayern had its home stadium, Allianz Arena, lit up in red white and blue on July 4. It also announced that its 100th U.S. fan club had just come into existence. Lucky No. 100: Greer, S.C.'s Stern des Südens South Carolina. ("Stern des Südens" means "Star of the South" and is one of the many nicknames associated with Bayern.)

We can forever debate the level to which soccer might catch on in the States, but it has caught on enough for powerful clubs to want a piece of the market. Bayern appears to be doing as good a job as anyone in that regard. Their English Twitter account has 577,000 followers, which is dwarfed by the follower totals for English-language Real Madrid and Barcelona accounts. But Bayern appears the only of these clubs with a U.S.-specific account.

The International Champions Cup is a series of friendlies involving a significant number of clubs in three different countries: the United States, Australia and China. A total of 10 matches will take place in the States, involving not only Bayern, Real Madrid and the two Milan clubs, but also Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and English Premier League champion Leicester City.

This marks the second time in three years that Bayern have made an American sojourn in whatever constitutes the "offseason." In 2014, they played two matches (against Deportivo in New York and against the MLS All-Stars in Portland) in coordination with their opening of an American FC Bayern office in New York City.

Euro 2016: Key players who can make the tournament an instant cracker

The European Championship throws up a host of players to watch out for every passing tournament. The likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Mesut Ozil, Daniele de Rossi, Philipp Lahm and Sami Khedira are some of the big names who have come to the fore after the passing of every Euro Championship. The sporting event is expected to continue its tradition of producing big players this time around as well.

The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bastian Schweinsteiger are among the big names present in the Euro 2016. However, what about the lesser-known stars who have the capabilities to make it big in the scene?

Let us look at some of those stars who can really light up the tournament for themselves this time around:

Dele Alli - England

The Tottenham Hotspur youngster can turn out to be one of the integral members of Roy Hodgson's side in the tournament. Alli, 20, has a massive potential to become one of England's best midfielders in the coming future and the Euro 2016 could just be the platform he needs to show his capabilities to the world.

In his debut Premier League season itself, Alli became one of the breakout stars of the English league and he not only bagged a confirmed berth in the Spurs XI but also picked up ten goals and nine assists over 33 games in the EPL this season.

Highly revered for his passing abilities and his strong sight to pick out the forwards through defence-splitting balls, Alli could be expected to become just the player The Three Lions have always craved for. He made his debut for the England senior team in October 2015.

Paul Pogba - France

The Juventus midfielder is one of the most feared players in football at the moment. Highly regarded as the next breakout superstar from Les Blues who could join the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps in the hall of fame, Pogba, 23, can be the main person who could just help France bag their third European Championship title.

A complete versatile schemer, Pogba bagged a total of ten assists from all competitions for Juventus this season. 

If Mesut Ozil was the one providing all the goals for Olivier Giroud throughout their season at Arsenal, it is best left to imagination as to what the combination of Pogba and Giroud could turn out for France. Also, the presence of Dmitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann can make the line-up a formidable one.

Granit Xhaka - Switzerland

Arsenal have already signed the player knowing his capabilities and strengths, and rarely has Arsene Wenger made a bad judgement before roping in a player. Xhaka, 23, is a no-nonsense midfielder known for his stamina and abilities to link the defenders with the forwards with elan. 

Switzerland is in a tough group with France, Romania and Albania. However, if the star-studded Swiss team, most importantly, the duo of Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, perform to the best of their abilities, it wouldn't come as a shock even if Switzerland top the group before entering the knockouts.

Xhaka, who became the skipper of Borussia Monchengladbach only at the age of 22, already has 43 caps for the Switzerland senior football team.

David de Gea - Spain

Definitely one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over the last few years, this is De Gea's biggest opportunity to showcase his abilities for the national team in front of the entire world. Recognised as the perfect successor to veteran custodian Iker Casillas, De Gea, 25, is expected to be one of the key players who will help La Roja in defending their Euro title.

His unpredictability and insane reflexes and diving skills make him the frontrunner to start the matches for Vicente Del Bosque's side in Euro 2016, ahead of Casillas. 

De Gea featured neither in Euro 2012 nor the FIFA World Cup 2014, despite being in the squad for Spain. However, this time around, he is expected to start the games and give the performance that will cement his place in the Spain starting XI for many years to come.

Kevin De Bruyne - Belgium

From the moment he started playing for Manchester City after shrugging off his share of injuries, De Bruyne has been unstoppable -- be it on the scoring front or the assisting front. Still yet to enter his prime, the 24-year-old has turned out as a star under Manuel Pellegrini at City and one can only imagine how much he will be progressing more under Pep Guardiola.

For the national team too, De Bruyne is expected to carry his momentum to the Euro 2016 and showcase his impressive skills on the grand stage. Belgium have a star-studded squad, which features the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Christian Benteke and Eden Hazard.

The forward line of the team is formidable and thing is for sure, if they gel together, Belgium will be unstoppable in Euro 2016.

Robert Lewandowski - Poland

Undoubtedly, one among the top three strikers in football today, Lewandowski can make the Euro 2016 a goal festival if he displays his abilities to perfection and take the tournament by a storm. The 27-year-old not only comes to the tournament with a great scoring record for Bayern Munich but also for the national team.

He scored 30 times from 32 games in the Bundesliga this season and was also the top scorer in the Euro 2016 qualifiers with 13 goals. With a sensational form like he is in at the moment, the opposition defenders really have to step their game up if they want to have any attempt of preventing Lewandowski from scoring.

Poland may not have that many star names to be honest, but on any given match, if the ball is delivered accurately to Lewandowski inside the six yard box, the result of the kick may not turn out that unpredictable too.

Alaba and Lewandowski to stay at Bayern

Bayern Munich have declared their stance on the rumoured exit of Robert Lewandowski and David Alaba, stating neither player will leave the club this summer.

Following speculation of a move to Real Madrid for the pair, club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has extinguished the reports by confirming the German champions will not be forced in to selling their best assets.

"We have closed the door. No player will leave Bayern against our will," confirmed the 61-year-old to Sport Bild.

According to Rummenigge, the CEO of Real Madrid, Jose Angel Sanchez, sent a message that ensured Los Blancos would never contact a Bayern player without first talking to the club.

The apparent harmony between the two clubs is sensed by new head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who feels player departures from the Allianz Arena will not be an issue this summer.

"The players we have are happy to stay at Bayern, they've signed long-term contracts, so we have no such problems." stated the Italian, in an interview with the BBC.

Having enjoyed a league and cup double in the 2015/16 season, the Bavarian side will now be keen to reclaim the Champions League trophy they acquired in 2013.

San Siro in sight for semi-finalists

This season’s UEFA Champions League final takes place at Milan’s hallowed San Siro on 28 May and, with both semi-final ties in the balance, all four remaining clubs harbour realistic ambitions of reaching the showpiece event. Manchester City’s first leg against visiting Real Madrid finished goalless, while Atletico Madrid will defend a 1-0 lead at the Allianz Arena – a venue synonymous with UEFA Champions League drama –against Bayern Munich, for whom Thomas Muller will hope to start.

The fixturesTuesday 3 MayBayern Munich - Atletico Madrid

Wednesday 4 MayReal Madrid - Manchester City

Match of the day
Bayern Munich - Atletico Madrid, Allianz Arena 20:45 (CET)

When Bayern play at home in the UEFA Champions League, entertainment is practically guaranteed. Back in this season’s group stage, Pep Guardiola's men dispatched Dinamo Zagreb 5-0 and Arsenal 5-1, while their thrilling 4-2 extra-time win over Juventus in the Round of 16 second leg was a knockout tie that will live long in the memory.

Last season, Bayern produced more of the same, beating Porto 6-1 in the last eight, Barcelona 3-2 in the semi-final and racking up a 7-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the last 16. Germany’s record league champions have won their last 11 home games in the UEFA Champions League, and victory against Atletico would equal the record of 12 set by Manchester United between 2006 and 2008.

The Bavarians will no doubt look to build on that formidable home form on Tuesday night, but while they remain on course for a treble this season, their impeccably high standards have appeared to slip of late. Guardiola’s side, showing eight changes from the line-up that featured in Madrid last week, were held to a 1-1 home draw by Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday and missed out on securing a 26th German Bundesliga title.

After the game, Muller admitted something was missing from their play. “We’re lacking fluency in our game, and we’re not able to score many goals right now,” said the FIFA World Cup™ winner and top scorer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Yet while Bayern's goals-per-game ratio has indeed dropped from three to two since the end of the winter break, Muller is confident they will set the record straight against Atletico and equal AC Milan’s record of reaching a sixth final in the UEFA Champions League era.

“We’re still looking for that special ingredient [but] we’ll use the emotions to our advantage," Muller said. "We’ll give it absolutely everything we have and then we’ll see where that gets us. We need an explosive performance.”

For Atletico, Uruguayan defensive lynchpin Diego Godin, perhaps the clearest embodiment of his coach Diego Simeone’s philosophy on the pitch, will likely return after missing the first leg with injury. Like Bayern, Simeone’s men are also in the running to be domestic champions after a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, but for now, their focus is entirely on the Bundesliga leaders.

 “The chance of getting to the Champions League final is spurring us all on,” said Antoine Griezmann, the matchwinner against Rayo. “We’re all looking forward to a fantastic game on Tuesday.” 

In the spotlightAs for the second tie, opinions remain divided as to whether Manchester City’s goalless draw with Real Madrid last Tuesday was a good result. The Citizens were playing in their first-ever UEFA Champions League semi-final and a clean sheet at home is a good platform on which to build, but there was a nagging sense of disappointment that Manuel Pellegrini’s side did not take something more from the encounter, particularly considering Real Madrid badly missed Cristiano Ronaldo's services.

The Portuguese talisman had to sit out with a thigh injury, but he resumed training on Sunday and Real coach Zinedine Zidane is optimistic he will be fit for the return game. “I hope and think that Ronaldo and Karim [Benzema] will be ready on Wednesday,” Zidane said.

That Pellegrini is prioritising the semi-final over City’s domestic engagements was made clear not just by the Chilean making eight changes to his team for Sunday’s English Premier League match at Southampton – a 4-2 defeat – but also by his post-match comments. “I would do exactly the same again,” said the 62-year-old in defence of his team selection. “We have an important game ahead of us on Wednesday. We’re playing for a place in the final of the Champions League.”

The defeat leaves City in further danger of missing out on qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League, but Pellegrini maintained that fielding a much-changed side was necessary in view of the trip to Madrid. “We want to finish in the top four but we had to risk that [today],” he said.

Player to watchThomas Muller was top scorer at South Africa 2010 and is level with Robert Lewandowski on eight goals as Bayern’s leading marksman in this season’s UEFA Champions League, but he was an unused substitute for the first leg at Atletico. Former Bayern coach Louis van Gaal once said, “In my team, Muller always plays,” but current boss Guardiola had other ideas.

“The reason Thomas didn’t play is simple: I wanted to play with just one striker," Guardiola said. "Maybe it would have been better to play him. Maybe! But I thought every possibility through and when it came down to it, I had to make a decision.”

The Bavarian native himself has already put the disappointment of the first leg behind him and is now looking forward to the return game, where he looks likely to be restored to the starting line-up.

“We have to make sure we function as a team and as a club," Muller said. "I’m confident we’ll get through. We have a huge challenge ahead of us, but that’s how we’ve always wanted it.”

The stat
0 – The number of goals Real Madrid have conceded at home in this season’s UEFA Champions League. Los Blancos have also scored 18 goals, winning all five home matches, and since 2011 have lost just one – a 4-3 reverse against Schalke in the 2014/15 Round of 16 – of their last 29 UEFA Champions League encounters in Madrid.

What they said“Everyone killed me after the game, but I’m not dead yet. I’m, wow, full of energy for this week. We still have 90 minutes to play and we’ve managed it [a positive result] in other situations. I’m happy. I like these situations.”
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola

EXCLUSIVE Inter ready to swoop for Ajax goal machine

It looks like prolific Ajax striker Arkadiusz Milik could be lighting things up in Italy. 
We can exclusively reveal that the Nerazzurri have had the 22-year-old watched on a number of occasions, and are preparing to make an approach from June onwards. He is valued at €12 million by the Lancers, but the Nerazzurri's scouts have been very impressed by his technique, along with his elegance, physical prowess and nose for the killer pass.

Milik is coming off a strong season with Ajax, in which he netted 23 goals and provided 11 assists. This year, the towering striker has kept up his streak, netting 17 times and replicating his assist total from 2014-2015.

Milik would also be the ideal profile to replace Mauro Icardi, should the Nerazzurri choose to sell him. He could also become the Argentine's sub, considering that the Beneamata doesn't really have an alternative to the already under-fire Argentine. 

The Polish international is often compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and has been prolific for his country, combining with Robert Lewandowski for 19 goals (6 of them his) to help the Eagles qualify for France 2016. 

Real ball rolling for busy summer of business

The moves being made in the Bernabéu offices offer a glimpse of what the make-up of the squad will be like next season. Calls, detailed scouting reports, briefings, direct contact with targets and agents... all with the aim of ascertaining the availability of potential purchases in the summer transfer window.

Responses of all descriptions are being received, ranging from the hands-off warnings generally issued by other big clubs such as Bayern, PSG, Manchester City and Barcelona, to other messages warmly welcoming Real Madrid's interest.

The wishlist on the table is not a short one. It starts with a goalkeeper. Everyone knows how close David de Gea came to joining the club last year. Some directors find the idea of signing the Manchester United man, who is destined to be Spain's number 1 for years to come, irresistible.

Next up, the club is convinced of the need to bring in a centre-back. They would love to get Marquinhos, but they know how tall an order it could prove to prise him away from moneybags PSG. For this reason, 'Los Blancos' have also set their sights on an experienced young central defender in a similar mould from La Liga: Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte.

Left-back is another department that requires strengthening. Two names are being talked about. One is a more realistic bet, Ricardo Rodríguez. The other, David Alaba, is closer to a pipe dream: his versatility makes him extra appealing, but persuading Bayern to part with the Austrian promises to cost a pretty penny, not to mention a bit of a struggle.

Zinedine Zidane has expressly asked for midfield reinforcements. When it comes to clout, Paul Pogba is the main man, whereas Eden Hazard would bring class, and Leroy Sané - whom Barcelona and City are both also chasing - offers pace and trickery aplenty.

Last but not least, the attack. Goals are worth their weight in gold, however, and the names being bandied about to potentially bolster the BBC, or even replace one of the trio, would not come cheaply. The interest in Robert Lewandowski is no secret and his fellow Bundesliga sharpshooter, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, has also appeared on the radar. And then there's Neymar, whom Real Madrid have always coveted.