Manchester City: Transfer News and Rumour Roundup 4

The Decision to be Made

Leroy Sane, Schalke 04, 20, Winger

We’ve talked a few times about Leroy Sane and for good reason. He seems to be the player most linked with a move to City, he’s only 20 years old and is strong in just about every area that our squad is currently weak in. He’s fast, has a sublime first and last touch and displays actualised talent as well as pie-in-the-sky potential. He’s like Raheem Sterling only good now and less likely to end up a basket case.

Furthermore, reports have indicated he would be open to coming to City and, unlike with BvB, Schalke aren’t particularly interested in holding onto him rather maximizing their profit from him. Schalke aren’t going to be giving Bayern a run for the Bundesliga this year, so what good is a player like Sane when he can bring in a haul to improve the team as a whole? It makes sense from both points of view.

Well, along comes Bayern and throws a spanner in the works. According to reports this week, Munich are interested in Sane and have made an offer that would see him stay at Schalke for another season before making the move. The one thing is, City have offered, by some estimates, around 40 million for Sane and Bayern about 10 million less. The reduction in money doesn’t suit Schalke, nor does pawning him to a league rival, but staying in his home country of Germany may be a very tempting proposition for Sane and Schalke may have no choice but to acquiesce.

The latest news indicates that Sane will make a decision by Wednesday, which seems strange given he’s concentrating on the Euros and helping Germany progress in them. Nonetheless, be it Wednesday or otherwise, Sane himself has a decision to make.

My opinion is that this one is still more likely to fall our way than not. Sane is far from guaranteed a first team slot at an already bulging Bayern midfield, even in 2018. The pull of being a regular at the Etihad, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being coached by Pep and, of course, the financial incentive that City offers are too big a pull in my opinion. It’s too much a gamble to leave all that on the table in the hopes Bayern pick him up a year later when he could be at the top of his game, right here, right now.

So we wait for Sane’s answer, but anything other than a yes would be a major upset at this point.

Next: The Bargain