Manchester City forward Leroy Sane is the latest to be wanted by German champions Bayern Munich as they look to build on their championship winning squad. The 23-year-old has garnered interest with the Bavarians looking to replace the departing Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
The Germany international has two years remaining on his contract but with no extension yet to be signed despite negotiations taking place, Manchester City may look to sell Sane, with Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge already confirming their interest in a player they looked at during his time at Schalke.
“We will try,” said Rummenigge. “I can not promise whether it will succeed. We already had the idea when he was still with Schalke. But at that time, we did not have a guaranteed regular place for him. Robben and Ribery were top of the top three years ago.”
But with Robben and Ribery, dubbed Robbery, both departing the club, playing minutes at the Allianz Arena will certainly be available. Serge Gnabry and Kinglsey Coman have featured for much of the 2018/19 campaign but with Sane being potentially added to the squad, this will allow head coach Niko Kovac much more fluidity going forward, with perhaps the former playing behind Robert Lewandowski, should Thomas Muller not feature.
And so, there’s no doubt that Sane will be a welcomed addition to the Bayern Munich squad, but is the Germany international a player that Pep Guardiola and Manchester City can afford to sell?
Arriving from Schalke in 2016 for £45.45 million, according to Transfermarkt, Sane has played 133 games in all competitions for Manchester City, scoring 39 and assisting 45. At 23, that is some feat. Even as a bit part player under Guardiola this season, he scored 10 and assisted 11 in their Premier League winning campaign, helping them retain their championship despite falling behind the likes of Riyad Mahrez.
There’s no doubt that he’s integral to Manchester City but with no guaranteed starting place, a return to Germany is something that would potentially suit Sane. Bayern Munich have already reportedly offered the Premier League club €80 million to acquire the services while City value the player closer to €100m. Although the two parties are €20m apart, there is an inkling within the German media that he may return to Germany.
But what about Pep Guardiola?
With confirmation that Massimiliano Allegri will leave his role as head coach at Juventus in the summer, reports have emerged suggesting that the Serie A club will target Pep Guardiola as his replacement, with Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri also on the shortlist.
Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici has since claimed that they have never even thought about appointing Guardiola, telling DAZN: “We haven’t had any contact with him, we didn’t even think about it.” However, Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri claims that the Spaniard turned down the Serie A champions on three occasions with his report concluding: “There was an attempt, but there was no negotiation. At least for this season, Guardiola won’t become Juventus manager – but the seed is planted for the future.”
And so it looks as though Guardiola will remain in Manchester for the time being, not to mention that it feels as though he has unfinished with the Premier League club following their exits from the Champions League. It’s an illustrious trophy that’s eluded him since his Barcelona days and it’s one that he would love to get his hands on once again.
At City, there’s no doubting that he feels at home while many will be hoping that he’s there beyond his current contract given the immense progression they’ve made under the Spaniard.
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