German Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are still keen on signing 23-year-old Manchester City star winger Leroy Sane.
The German international was linked with a move to Bayern in the summer as he was identified as one the replacement for departed wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry who left the defending Bundesliga champions in the summer.
However, the deal collapsed after Sane suffered a serious injury in a pre-season match which ruled him out for the first-half of the season.
As per Bild, Bayern are still interested in acquiring Sane’s services but are not willing to pay €100 million or more for the player which they were willing to do so in the summer.
Instead, it is believed that the Munich-based club’s hierarchy are only willing to offer €80 million for the German international who is still recovering from the injury and is unlikely to return to the field before January next year.
Sane, since his move to City in 2016, has bagged 39 goals and made 45 assists in 134 appearances (Transfermarkt) and is highly rated by Pep Guardiola.
Regardless of that, the Bayern camp are confident of signing the attacker in next summer’s transfer window due to his contract situation with City. As per Transfermarkt, the German international has only two years remaining on his contract and has not shown any signs of a breakthrough regarding a new deal.
Bayern are in need of a revamp, given their shaky start to the season. Leading German bookmakers still make them favourites to lift the Bundesliga title this season, but bookies like Eagle Bet have seen the odds go from 2/1 to 3/1 since the defeat to Frankfurt and subsequent sacking of Kovac.
Should City consider letting Sane go to Bayern?
Sane is a world-class attacker and no doubt any club will be greatly improved with him in their ranks, but the reality is that despite his talents, he is surplus to many available options at City.
A guaranteed double digits goal/assist contributor every season highlighted by the fact that bar his first season in England, the German international has bagged at least 10 goals in subsequent seasons with his last season’s numbers at 10 goals and 11 assists in 31 appearances via Transfermarkt.
Despite all of that, there is a general sense that Sane could be much more and still has much more potential to be utilized than the little brilliance we’ve seen. As per Transfermarkt, the 23-year-old is rated at €100m (£86.2m) but a recent report by Evening Standard suggested City would only entertain offers starting from £158.8m (£137m) if they are to sell their highly-rated German to Bayern or anywhere else. Shows how much he’s valued at the club.
It’s well known that City are not one club pressured by finances when it comes to decision making regards a player as they have both the abundance of talent on the pitch and availability of funds off it, giving them a major stronghold in any player’s transfer dealings.
It is due to this player abundance that City should consider letting Sane go. Bar the exception of Raheem Sterling, Ederson and probably Kevin De Bruyne, no player is guaranteed these days of a starting berth under Guardiola and even last season, City did win the league without “influential” De Bruyne around for a long spell.
The likes of Mahrez, Bernado Silva and a host of others still give their best week in week out to be seen as preferred choices wherever they play so adding Sane once again to the waiting list becomes a major dilemma not exactly for Guardiola but more for the player himself.
Definitely, a player of his calibre would want to play at the highest level and not subject himself to cup games and “lesser” ties but such has been the case of Gabriel Jesus and there is a high possibility that could be the only option City have for him.
A more important reason is the fact that the 23-year-old will only just be returning in January from a long spell on the sidelines and it is understandable that Guardiola would have to tread carefully with his return to action. However, the position in which City find themselves in pursuit of defending their EPL crown will mean Guardiola might have to play his best (and fit) available options to him till the end of the season. Sane can easily cut in on quality but will still need a couple of weeks after his return to gain full fitness.
As much as City are blessed with the finances, they should cut unnecessary losses and take reasonable deals when they can and now is a perfect example. No club would pay the said wanted amount for Sane especially with the German having missed out on half a season’s worth of football and has only two years remaining on his contract. City signed Sane from Schalke in a deal worth £37m so any amount between £80-100m offered for the German is still pretty good business when you look at it.
Then the most important reason of all is based on the player himself. Based on his quality, he would surely be feeling like he should be a guaranteed starter at this point of his career so perhaps a sense of frustration might linger around when he thinks about the situation (the injury that stopped his supposed move to Bayern from happening).
Back in the summer, several reports did say that Sane already agreed personal terms with the German champions and all that remained was a final agreement between both sides and the deal would have been done and dusted. City stalled and stalled till that unfortunate injury happened and jeopardized it all. It becomes a question of whether his heart still remains at the club. If no, there is no reason keeping him against his will.
When you further consider that Sane chose to have surgery in Austria (where Bayern players do) rather than with Guardiola’s preferred doctor in Spain, it could be a hint he still believes something could happen and of course Bayern have no difficulty when it comes to luring German players to the Allianz Arena. This view was emphasized recently by Bundesliga expert Raphael Honigstein.
As per Reach Plc’s Transfer Window podcast cited by Daily Star, Raphael believes Sane is still frustrated about how City derailed his chances prior to the injury saying it could play a role in any subsequent move away from the Ethiad.
“From what I understand Bayern have not decided whether they will go in for him in January,” Honigstein told Reach Plc’s Transfer Window podcast.
“There are a lot of signs pointing in that direction.
“I think the biggest one is that they managed to convince him, or maybe he decided, not to have surgery with Pep Guardiola’s preferred doctor in Spain, but in Austria where all of Bayern’s players are being treated.
“I think that is a strong sign that Bayern retain interest and the player himself feels that something still might happen.
“There is also so residual frustration with how this panned out on behalf of the player.
“He was under the impression that he wouldn’t feature in the Community Shield and luck would have it he got injured.
“He was unhappy that he was being played when negotiations were progressing.”
Sane is expected to return to action in January and as expected, further speculation around his future would go on right till the end of the season. In the best possible scenario for both parties, it would make sense if City consider letting him go.
