Bayern deny Martinez deal

Javi Martinez: Continues to be heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich remain keen on Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez, but have refuted reports suggesting an agreement has been put in place.

Speculation in Germany had suggested that Bayern were willing to meet Martinez's buy-out clause, with a transfer package worth some €40million (£31.3m) pieced together.

Bilbao have maintained throughout the summer that they are not prepared to lower their asking price for the Spain international.

Bayern have so far refused to bow to their demands and insist that reports suggesting otherwise are wide of the mark, with discussions regarding a deal ongoing.

"There has been no movement in this affair, from our point of view," media officer Markus Horwick told Deutsche Presseagentur.

"It's still the case that we will not pay €40m as a transfer fee for the player."

Interesting

Bayern director Matthias Sammer has echoed Horwick's words, claiming that the Bundesliga giants will only bring Martinez on board if a compromise can be reached with Bilbao.

"The fact is that Javi Martinez is a very interesting player," he told Kicker-Sportmagazin.

"It is also a fact that sport and economics have to fit together.

"It will be back on once we find a way of preventing him from becoming a record transfer for this club. I do not see that happening."