Guardiola has ‘other priorities’ over replacing Sane
LEROY SANE’S possible departure from Manchester City this summer will not automatically lead to the club dipping into the transfer market for a replacement as manager Pep Guardiola indicated he has “other priorities”.
Guardiola revealed on Friday afternoon that Sane has rejected numerous offers of a new contract and wants to move elsewhere, with Bayern Munich hotly tipped to end the German winger’s four-year stint at the Etihad Stadium.
But with one year left to run on his existing deal, Sane’s imminent exit is not a formality. Neither, it seems, is Guardiola’s rush to source an alternative from another club as he believes he already has options at his disposal.
“First, Leroy is our player, I don’t know if he is going to leave this summer or going to leave at the end of the contract,” Guardiola said.
“We have a lot of good players up front. Gabriel [Jesus] can play on the left, Phil Foden can play on the left, we have Raheem [Sterling] there as well, so we have talented players up front.
“They are so stable in terms of injury situations so I think we have other priorities.
“But after coronavirus, the situation economically, financially for clubs is changing so I don’t know what is the situation. We are going to see at the end of this season.”
As for whether he will definitely attempt to sign a defender when the transfer window opens at the end of the season, Guardiola laid the challenge down to his existing players to prove their worth.
He said: “I don’t know because it depends on the people who stay and maybe the last two months that they make a step forward and we decide to continue with the same people. I don’t know right now.”
One of those players is Benjamin Mendy, whose time in the north west has been disrupted by injuries and a loss of form, but the full-back was one of the standout performers in the midweek win over Arsenal.
Yet Guardiola, speaking ahead of tonight’s game against Burnley, is not getting carried away and wants the Frenchman to deliver more consistently.
“He has special qualities – his energy, his potential, as a left-back he is an extraordinary player but we cannot forget it was just one game,” Guardiola said. “You just have to wait a little bit and hopefully he can play this period regularly.”