LEROY SANE
This buzz-saw of a winger, who tore ligaments in his right knee in August’s Community Shield and hasn’t made a competitive appearance this term, is one unlucky guy.
At the time of his breakdown on the Wembley turf he was on the verge of moving to Bayern Munich in a €120million transaction that would have made him the most expensive German player of all time. A cruel twist of fate, indeed.
The smart money says that the 24-year-old does not have a future at Manchester City, where coach Pep Guardiola is thought to have reservations about the wide man’s mentality, perplexed by his habit of switching the intensity switch on and off. Too laid-back in training, too irregular in his performances on match days,
The winger has no intention of negotiating a contract extension and City will not want to see him leave on a Bosman next year
Sane’s statistics for the second half of last season tell their own story, starting just three of City’s last10 Premier League fixtures and omitted from every big game.
A £37m purchase from Schalke in the summer of 2016, he has grown thoroughly frustrated in England and a bench-warming mission is no use to a full international with 21 senior caps and a reputation for explosive, adroit excellence.
Yes, he is prone to inconsistency. Yes, he can be aloof and lacking in positive body language. But when firing on all cylinders he is undoubtedly a class act, a compelling mixture of breakneck speed and mesmerising ball skills, the balletic and the ballistic.
Bayern still have him in their sights and director of sport Hasan Salihamidzic has been working on putting a deal together. He is naturally aware of the ace card in his possession: the fact that the winger has no intention of negotiating a contract extension and City will not want to see him leave on a Bosman next year.
Rumours of Sane’s imminent arrival at the Allianz-Arena were circulating during the January transfer window, but Bayern chose to play it safe, opting to wait until the player is fully fit again.
Just to further complicate proceedings, German weekly claims that Barcelona and Real Madrid have entered
the auction room, with both said to be preparing bids of €80m-€100m.
Sane has been back in full training at City since late January and made his post-injury comeback a month later in a run-out with his club’s under-23 side.