Neither Andre Schurrle nor Lars Bender will be sold, according to Bayer Leverkusen's sporting director. The pair had been linked to moves away from the Bay Arena for much of the summer.

Bayer Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Völler in Süddeutsche: "We have decided that @andre_schuerrle & L. Bender will not be sold"

— raphael honigstein (@honigstein) August 31, 2012

Bayer looked poor in their season opening match versus Frankfurt. They struggled at the back and were beaten 2-1 by a team that few expect great things from the season. Whether that loss made Bayer realize that they could not afford to sell two of their best players is speculation, but it sure didn't help the chances of their being sold.

Schurrle has been linked to Chelsea all summer with the rumors really heating up over the last week. The 21-year-old is one of Germany's brightest young talents and Chelsea wanted to bring him in as part of their youth revolution.

Bender has been linked to several clubs, but the interest never seemed as intense as Chelsea's for Schurrle.