City prepare final effort for Sane

Manchester City could make one final attempt to persuade Leroy Sane to sign a new contract if talks with Bayern Munich over a fee for the winger continue to stall.

Pep Guardiola confirmed last week that Sane had rejected multiple offers of a new deal with City and wanted to leave in anticipation of a move to Bayern this summer.

But negotiations over a fee for the Germany international have hit an impasse, with Bayern so far proving reluctant to offer more than €40 million (£36 million) for the 24-year-old, who is out of contract next summer.

Even allowing for the financial impact of the Covid-19 crisis and Sane’s desire to join Bayern, City are refusing to accept such a fee for a player they valued at £137million 12 months ago, and they may now have one last effort at trying to encourage the German to stay.

That could prove optimistic – Sane appears to have made his positerms tion clear – but City are prepared to play hardball if necessary and the Premier League champions are adamant they could run down his contract.

Sane’s hopes of a move to Bayern last summer were shattered when he suffered a ruptured cruciate in August, but he made his comeback as a second-half substitute in Monday’s 5-0 win over Burnley.

Guardiola has raised the possibility of Ilkay Gundogan being used as an occasional makeshift striker in the absence of the injured Sergio Aguero, who underwent surgery on his left knee in Barcelona yesterday after aggravating an existing problem against Burnley.

Guardiola admitted the loss of Aguero would be a blow, but hinted at using midfielder Gundogan as a temporary forward. He said: “Ilkay can play in many positions – not as a striker as a main target [man], but a striker who can drop and play and get to the box.”