With a tenth straight Bundesliga title secured, Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann wants to settle the future of star striker Robert Lewandowski so he can plan for next season.As the title celebrations raged last Saturday after a home win over Dortmund that meant Bayern cannot be caught, Lewandowski was reluctant to discuss his plans.The Pole’s contract expires in 2023, but while Bayern bosses insist he will stay next season, persistent rumours link the 33-year-old to Barcelona.Lewandowski’s agent Pini Zahavi met Bayern’s senior bosses in a Munich restaurant on Thursday, but no progress was made towards signing a contract extension.”Basically, it’s always good to have planning security – in all areas of life, including the strikers,” Nagelsmann said Friday. “That’s why I would also like us to reach an agreement.”Nagelsmann is irritated by the constant speculation, adding: “I must have said 50 times that I would like him to stay.”📈 Lewandowski’s statistics since the 2013/14 season ⏩ @Rondeando8TV pic.twitter.com/MXOVTbefiX— FCBarcelonaFl (@FCBarcelonaFl) April 29, 2022 Lewandowski, twice voted FIFA’s best male player, has won every title possible with Bayern, who he joined on a free transfer from Dortmund in 2014.He has scored 310 Bundesliga goals scored in 381 games for both Bayern and his former club from the Signal Iduna Park.He is set to be crowned Bundesliga top scorer for the fifth straight season and can add to his tally of 33 goals in Saturday’s away match at Mainz.If he starts, Lewandowski will be without his forward partner Thomas Mueller, who misses the trip to Mainz with illness, Nagelsmann said.Lewandowski is not comfortable with Nagelsmann’s tactics. On the other hand, the player knows that at Barcelona he would be the center of attention and many balls would come to him, something that does not happen much at Bayern.— @sport pic.twitter.com/LzIJ8477VZ— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) April 27, 2022 In the fight for Champions League places, Freiburg can sneak back into the top four with a win at Hoffenheim on Saturday before RB Leipzig, who currently sit fourth, face Moenchengladbach away on Monday.Leipzig have extra time to recover, four days after their 1-0 home win over Rangers in the first leg of the semi-final leaves them on the brink of the Europa League final. The second leg is at Ibrox next Thursday.Meanwhile, at the foot of the table, legendary Bundesliga coach Felix Magath has compared keeping Hertha Berlin up to winning a “gold” medal.With three matches left, Magath has managed to haul Hertha out of the relegation places up to 15th with a four-point buffer over 16th.EUROPA LEAGUE: An all German final on the horizon: Both West Ham and Rangers lose first semi-final matchesHertha can take another step towards survival with a win at second-from-bottom Bielefeld on Saturday.Consecutive victories over Augsburg and Stuttgart have left Hertha on the brink of securing a tenth straight season in Germany’s top flight, but Magath insists the fight is not over.”By no means do we already have ‘gold’,” said Magath, but the 68-year-old who coached both Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg to Bundesliga titles said Hertha could “now go for silver” with a third consecutive victory.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Dortmund are home to Bochum on Saturday and again the one to watch will be Erling Haaland. The 21-year-old star striker drew a blank in last Saturday’s top-of-the-table defeat at Bayern and has been carrying a persistent ankle knock which restricted him to two goals in his last seven games.The match against Bochum could be one of Haaland’s last home appearances in the famous yellow shirt amid speculation he will join Manchester City next season.Borussia Dortmund coach Marco Rose says the injury which plagued Haaland in recent weeks has now healed.”We have it well under control”, Rose assures.BUNDESLIGAFriday21.30: (1.30) Union Berlin (5.50) Greuther Furth (12.0)Saturday16.30: (2.85) Augsburg (3.30) Koln (2.55)16.30: (6.25) Mainz (4.50) Bayern (1.58)16.30: (2.81) Bielefeld (3.15) Hertha (2.85)16.30: (1.40) Dortmund (5.10) Bochum (7.75)16.30: (2.04) Stuttgart (3.45) Wolfsburg (3.80)19.30: (2.55) Hoffenheim (3.50) Freiburg (2.95)Monday21.30: (1.45) Leverkusen (4.50) Eintr.Frankfurt (7.00)21.30: (4.80) M’ gladbach (3.70) RB Leipzig (1.87)***odds are subject to change
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