For a number of weeks now, Schalke’s young talent Leroy Sané has been on the radars of some of Europe’s biggest clubs – with Manchester City the most likely destination for the 20-year old.
However, in comments made on Monday to Sky Deutschland, Souleyman Sané – the player’s father – claimed that both Madrid and Bayern Munich are still in the race to sign Sané, amid reports that City are close to sealing a move for the Germany attacker.
He said: “A deal hasn’t been made with anybody, and Madrid as well as Bayern Munich still have opportunities.”
Sky Deutschland also reported that Schalke will not listen to any offers under €40 million for the German international.
As was revealed by AS in January, Real Madrid have retained an interest in the player since they played Schalke in the Champions League second round back in 2015 – after Mané shone in the second leg of that tie by scoring a goal. Los Blancos haven’t forgotten the winger since that day and he has now gone on to become an indispensable piece of the Bundesliga side.
Sanehas been strongly linked with a switch to the Premier League club this summer, with Bild reporting late last week that he has already agreed terms on a four-year contract to join new boss Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium. The German tabloid added that the transfer fee was the only issue still to be negotiated, with Schalke hoping to at least get €50 million for their biggest asset.
Bayern were initially hoping to stall Sané for a season – as next year a release clause in his contract kicks in, meaning he would be available for £29million. However, Arjen Robben has been injured in a pre-season friendly and they could now try to hijack City’s deal.
Zinedine Zidane’s side have not been on the scene at all, but they have a habit of arriving late and snatching players from under the noses of other teams – as they did with City target Isco three years ago.
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preseason.