Kovac confident Boateng will stay at Bayern

Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac is confident Jerome Boateng will remain with the Bundesliga champions next season despite rumours suggesting he is on the wanted list of Thomas Tuchel, the Paris Saint-Germain boss.

Boateng has been at Bayern for seven years after spending a season with Manchester City, and has become a key player at the back.

But in May he had hinted that he was craving a new experience in a different country once again.

Tuchel is said to have made a recognised centre-back a priority since taking over from Unai Emery, and his recent comments about wanting “top players” who “take into account what we have in mind” when asked about the German defender did little to cool the rumours.

But Kovac – who is embarking on his first campaign with Bayern – has other ideas, telling Tuchel that he will find it difficult to tempt players away from the Allianz Arena.

“I know Jerome quite well and I’m confident that he will stay with Bayern,” Kovac told reporters.

“I know that Thomas is still looking for one or two good players, maybe he will look at us, but it will not be easy to get our players.”

Kovac took charge of his first Bayern match against PSG on Saturday, seeing his team claim a 3-1 win over Tuchel’s inexperienced side. Sampdoria have officially confirmed the signing of former Napoli goalkeeper Rafael Cabral on a free transfer.

The Brazilian joined the Partenopei in 2013, and was the starting goalkeeper for the 2014-15 season, playing in 23 of 38 Serie A games.

Earlier last week, the blucerchiati had also signed goalkeeper Massimo Audero from Juventus.