LEWANDOWSKI OPEN TO PREMIER LEAGUE
POLAND centre forward Robert Lewandowski is growing increasingly unsettled at Bayern Munich and would now consider a move to the Premier League. The Bayern striker lines up against familiar faces when his country face Germany in an eagerly awaited Group C clash in Paris today. He has always resisted interest from the likes of Manchester United, preferring to make his name first at Borussia Dortmund and for the last two years at Munich. The 27-year-old has been talking to Bayern about extending his contract but it is understood he has told friends he is willing to listen to alternatives while those talks continue. Lewandowski’s dream move would be to Real Madrid but he accepts that one of the Champions League winners’ star names would have to leave the Bernabeu in order for that to happen. The boyhood Liverpool fan is also interested in teaming up again with his former Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp if and when the Anfield club return to the Champions League. Lewandowski has scored 47 goals in 57 Bundesliga starts in his two seasons in Bavaria and may end up signing a new deal if he doesn’t receive firm offers. But it is understood that he feels he has proved himself in Germany and is in need of a new challenge. Certainly news of the Poland star’s unsettled state of mind provides an interesting backdrop to today’s game. Lewandowski can expect to face as many as five of his Bayern team-mates tonight as Poland look to build on their opening group win against Northern Ireland. Lewandowski said: ‘For me, Germany are the favourites for the whole tournament, but anything can happen. We have to stay calm and be confident against them. No fear, no stress, but we also need to have some fun. They know me very well, but we all know each other well.’ The Poles are very much a dark horse here in France but their record against Germany is terrible, and they will walk out in the French capital tonight knowing that history is against them. Poland, who are likely to be without keeper Wojciech Szczesny tonight due to a thigh injury, have only ever beaten their great historical rivals once in 20 games and lost to them in the 1974 and 2006 World Cups — both times in Germany — and at Euro 2008. Indeed, Poland have never even scored a goal against Germany in tournament football. Their solitary win against Germany came in qualifying for this tournament, a 2-0 win in Warsaw in October 2014, and it helped them finish second to Joachim Low’s team by a single point.