Bayern Munich are rapidly going off the idea of signing Leroy Sane in the next transfer window, according to German sources.
The Bundesliga giants staged a very public pursuit of the Manchester City star last summer, and were preparing a big bid for the 24-year-old before he damaged knee ligaments during the Community Shield win over Liverpool in August.
City offered Sane a new deal, with his current contract due to expire in the summer of 2021, and were prepared to sell him – at the right price – rather than run the risk of losing him for nothing next year.
The injury put everything on hold, and now the coronavirus pandemic has further complicated the matter.
City’s stance is unchanged – they want Sane to stay and they are open to talk about a new deal, but will sell if they deem it necessary.
They wanted around £130million last summer, but realistically that demand will have to reduce, with the player one year nearer to his contract deadline, and with the global health crisis depressing the football economy.
But sources in Germany suggest that Bayern are also going cool on the idea.
Those sources claim that the Bundesliga giants feel that Sane is not showing enough commitment to joining them, and is more interested in the money.
That seems to have been sparked by Sane’s change of agent in January, which was portrayed in some quarters as indicating a determination to push through the switch.
But there is a feeling in Munich that the appointment of a new agent was about maximising his wage, and that Sane had backed away from his initial keenness for a move, fuelled by his frustration at being unable to break into the City team on a regular basis.
The player was close to a return for City before the pandemic caused a suspension of all football. He had played for the Blues under-23s, but teammate Ilkay Gundogan suggested the problem was getting himself mentally right for a return rather than any physical difficulty.
The source says that Bayern want to hear more about Sane’s desire to play for the European giants and less about his financial demands.
Bayern expect City’s demands for a nine-figure transfer fee to drop to anything between £45million to £70million, depending on the way the suspension of the sport affects the transfer market.
Bayern are also keen on buying RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner, and the fall in income created by the pandemic means they will have much less money to spend in the next window.
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