Manchester City are bracing themselves for a fresh bid from Bayern Munich for the services of contract rebel Leroy Sane.
According to Mirror, Manchester City are still expecting Bayern Munich to come up with an improved bid for Leroy Sane. The German attacker is expected to leave the club this summer, after failing to agree to a new contract at the Etihad, with the Bundesliga champions emerging as the likeliest suitor.
Bayern were closing on the capture of Sane last month. But, their £70 million offer was reportedly rejected by the Sky Blues. It is now believed that the Premier League champions are expecting over £100 million for the German international – as stated in the report.
Therefore, the Bavarians need to break their club record fee of £72 million they paid in order to attain the services of Lucas Hernandez if they are to sign Sane this summer. And that makes sense given the quality as well as the potential of the Manchester City star.
Indeed, Sane has been one of Europe’s biggest up and coming footballers for the past few years now. Since moving to the Etihad back in 2016, the 23-year-old has been involved in as many as 39 goals in 133 matches for Manchester City in all competitions. He has also won 19 caps for Germany and is tipped to become a regular fixture in the national team in the coming years.
But what makes Sane such an appealing target for Bayern is his previous exposure in the Bundesliga. The young attacker made almost 50 appearances in the German top -light during his brief spell in the Schalke first-team. He was involved in 18 goals, notably helping the Royal Blues finish fifth during the 2015-16 campaign. Hence, Sane could be a viable replacement for the departing duo of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery next season.
As for Manchester City, the departure of Sane won’t be that big of a blow given the fact that both Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling have stepped up to the plate in the recently concluded season. Silva, in particular, ended up in our list of Premier League’s top five midfielders during the 2018/19 campaign.
However, Kevin de Bruyne’s recent struggles with injuries coupled with speculations linking David Silva to a move away from Etihad has forced Pep Guardiola to find a new playmaker this summer and rightly so. Although Manchester City do boast the services of Riyad Mahrez as back-up, one could argue that the Algerian international isn’t as effective as Sane.
But, at the same time, selling the German international for a fee around £90-100 million could help Manchester City fund move for top-target Joao Felix. The English champions recently held talks with Benfica over the potential signing of the Portuguese wonderkid, who could be an excellent replacement for Sane.