Manchester United have made a fresh offer for Owen Hargreaves, the Bayern Munich midfielder.
“It’s been official today that Manchester United have made an offer for me,” said Hargreaves, who has been out since September with a broken leg. For a club like Man Utd to make an offer is something I appreciate.”
But Bayern director-general Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insists it is “out of the question” that the 25-year-old will leave during January.
German newspaper Bild reported on Friday that United had bid �20m for the England international.
Although Rummenigge was adamant the central midfielder would not leave Munich during the January transfer window, he admitted something could be sorted out in the summer.
“We will see this summer how things work out,” Rummenigge told Bild newspaper.
United first bid for Hargreaves last summer, but Bayern blocked the move after losing Michael Ballack to Chelsea.
Hargreaves is contracted to the Bundesliga champions until 2010 but has made no secret of his desire to move to Old Trafford.
“Manchester United have developed into such a talented team. They have got such a great nucleus when you look at Rio (Ferdinand) and Wazza (Wayne Rooney), and Cristiano Ronaldo is probably one of the best players in Europe at the moment.”
The midfielder also paid tribute to United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
“When you look at the success and the amount of titles he’s won, he’s been very successful. I think any player would love to have the opportunity to play for a manager like that and all the players speak in the highest tones for him.”
Yet he admitted his future is in the hands of the Bayern hierarchy at the moment.
“I can’t really do much, it’s not on my side,” he said. “That’s down to the club really for those things to be decided. I’ve got a contract and I’m focused on my half, which is football and playing well. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks and possibly months.”
Hargreaves has been out of action since September after breaking his leg.
But he returned to training on Monday and is aiming to return to first-team action in February.
He said: “The most important thing for me now is to come back healthy and playing strong.
I’ve been out for a few months and am looking forward to getting back into the rhythm of playing again and representing England.”