Bayern Munich have been rebuffed in their attempts to sign Leroy Sane of Manchester City, who have reportedly rejected a £72 million bid from the Bavarians.
According to Metro, Manchester City are furious at Niko Kovac and have rejected a £72 million from Bayern Munich for Leroy Sane. Kovac recently answered to speculations linking Sane to a move to Bavaria by replying that he is ‘confident’ that the club will sign him.
The Croatian’s unprofessional stance regarding a player that is contracted to other club has angered the Bayern Munich hierarchy, with Uli Hoeness now taking over charge of talks with City. The Sky Blues are now unwilling to consider any offers for Sane unless Bayern come up with a considerably improved offer for the German speedster.
This could serve as a massive blow for Bayern Munich, who have already spent a lot of money on defensive reinforcements earlier this summer. They signed French World Cup winners Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez while Jann Fiete-Arp was also brought in from HSV.
But, they are still yet to find answers to their attacking problems, especially on the wings. Two of their most trusted wingers in Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben notably left the club at the end of last season.
While Robben retired from professional football, Ribery is closing in on a move to an unknown middle eastern club. This is coupled with the return of James Rodriguez to the Bernabeu following the end of his two-year loan spell.
That leaves Kovac with Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman as his only viable options in the wide-attacking department. The addition of Sane, to that end, could have made a world of sense. But, with City now keen on extracting a higher fee for the German international, Bayern’s pursuit of the winger could, in fact, end in failure.
As for Manchester City, they won’t really be deterred by the potential departure of Sane. They have considerable depth in the attacking department, boasting players like Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva while Kevin de Bruyne will be itching to go after returning to full fitness.
Pep Guardiola didn’t really make use of Sane last season anyway, mainly due to the rapid rise of Bernardo. The German’s departure will, in fact, make way for youngster Phil Foden to enjoy a more prominent role in the first-team. Therefore, the Citizens are certainly playing a smart move by holding out for a higher fee for Sane as we head to the final phase of the ongoing summer transfer window, which ends early in England.
