VfL Wolfsburg denies reported interest in signing Karimi

IRNA - Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg denied Thursday a report on the web site of the daily Bild which said that Bayern Munich reserve midfielder Ali Karimi and his Paraguayan Julio dos Santos teammate are set to be loaned to the north German team during the winter break.

Wolfsburg's managing director, Klaus Fuchs confirmed while he is interested in signing dos Santos, Karimi is not one of his transfer targets.

Both players have been languishing on the Bayern bench for weeks and have been rarely used by coach Felix Magath.

Bayern Munich's powerful President Franz Beckenbauer expressed earlier strong doubts as to whether the 28-year-old Karimi and 23-year-old dos Santos will have a future at the German Bundesliga record champs beyond this season.

Asked in a recent interview with the renowned kicker sports magazine whether Karimi and dos Santos will ever make it at Bayern, Beckenbauer replied, "It will be hard for them."
Pointing to Karimi's playing career in the United Arab Emirates prior to his signing at Bayern, Beckenbauer pointed out that the slow-paced Arab football style made it difficult for Karimi to earn a permanent berth in the squad's starting formation.

The German media reported earlier that Bayern won't extend Karimi's contract after the end of this Bundesliga season.

Bayern coach Magath who had great hopes for Karimi when he signed him in 2005, has been frustrated by the Iranian player's apparent unwillingness to learn the German language in a bid to be able to adjust better within the team.