Leroy Sane Nearing Manchester City Exit

After four years at Manchester City, it does appear Leroy Sane’s time at the club is finally coming to an end. The winger’s expected departure from the Etihad Stadium has been the subject of discussion on several platforms in the last two years. The German has been the main cause of this. His refusal to put pen to paper on a contract extension offer from the club has elicited diverse reactions from different quarters. It also put other clubs on alert regarding his availability. First on the queue is Bayern Munich.

The Mirror reports that the German champions are now close to concluding a £70m deal for the player. The news outlet has revealed that Sane’s representatives LIAN Sports have stepped up their efforts to secure the winger’s return to his homeland this summer. But that’s not surprising as it has been an open secret in the last year that the 24-year-old has his heart set on a departure from England.

That has only encouraged and emboldened Bayern Munich who have gone to great lengths to make their interest in the player known. The Bavarian club’s hierarchy have stopped short of mocking Pep Guardiola and Man City concerning Sane’s imminent departure. Feeling powerless in stopping the player, the Catalan manager has publicly stated it’s up to Sane what he wants to do.

The young German on his part has played a smart game all along choosing to quietly see out his time with the club. But City will be on the losing end to let a player much has been invested into just walk away for free. With his contract set to expire in the summer of 2021 that could be the case. So the club needs to sell this summer or risk losing him and yet get nothing in return.

The least the club should do is sell and reinvest the returns on a suitable replacement. Unfortunately, the club is now in a difficult position given the prevailing circumstances. With just over one year left on his contract, Sane’s market value has plummeted. One of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on football is that the transfer market is also likely to see a significant drop in the value of players.

This is playing perfectly into Bayern’s hands. The Bundesliga side is now offering around £70million for Sane, which is half of City’s initial asking price for the player. Unfortunately for the Blues, the former Schalke man has been on the sidelines all season following a serious knee ligament injury he suffered last August. His absence has been felt as the team failed to reach the heights attained in the last two campaigns. Now that he’s finally back to full fitness, he could soon leave.

In fact, it’s clear that Sane is getting closer and closer to leaving switching from the Etihad Stadium to the Allianz Arena. He feels that is the next step in his career in order to win the Champions League. That much has been confirmed by his agent.

“It is true that we now officially have the mandate as a consultant to Leroy Sane and can now hold talks,” said agent Damir Smoljan.

“Together with him, we exchange ideas with Manchester City about what the next step could look like.

“The basic interest of FC Bayern is no secret. But other top clubs across Europe have already contacted us about Leroy.

“FC Bayern is the only club in Germany that Leroy can imagine as the next step in his career.

“There he sees the prerequisites for achieving his big goal of winning the Champions League.”

For City, one way to make the best of the situation could be to offer him to other clubs at least to help drive up his price. Otherwise, the Bavarian side will get the 24-year-old on the cheap in the summer.