Guardiola denies Bayern target Sane’s transfer request rumours
>> LONDON: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday that German winger Leroy Sane has not requested a transfer away from the Premier League club amid interest from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
The transfer saga has dogged Guardiola throughout City’s preseason tour in Asia and the Spaniard reiterated his stance that he wants to retain the services of the 23-year-old whose 10 goals and 10 assists helped the club defend their league crown.
“I answered many times this question [on Sane’s future], I know the rumours exist,” Guardiola said ahead of today’s Community Shield match against Liverpool.
“It’s impossible for me to convince any player to stay when he wants to leave but the player did not tell me anything. If he says he wants to leave, we will speak to the club. He didn’t tell me that.
“We want him to stay, we have tried to extend the contract for more than a year. We were quite close and now it’s a little bit different but that’s the reality, I can’t say any more.”
Bayern have been chasing Sane’s signature but rumours of the Germany international making the decision to move were put to rest on Thursday when the Bavarian club released a statement saying the reports “do not correspond to the facts”.
The Premier League transfer window closes a day before the season begins on Aug 9 and Guardiola said he hoped other European leagues would follow suit so managers know the final makeup of their squad before the first game of the season.
“In many ways England lead in many aspects so hopefully the rest of Europe will follow,” he said.