Arsenal have received an unexpected boost to their interest in Leroy Sane after the Bayern Munich winger made a U-turn on signing a contract extension.
The Germany international had been seen as the odd one out at Bayern with regards to his future at the club. Out of all the players to be handed a new contract, Sane was viewed as the lowest priority.
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While the likes of Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich have all received bumper new deals, Sane was bluntly told to either take a significant pay cut or find a new employer.
In recent weeks, Sane was clearly playing for a new contract and even acquiesced to Bayern’s conditions. The winger wanted to stay, so he agreed to forego a signing-on fee and accepted a lower salary.
Due to his willingness to stay, as well as his improved performances, Bayern were ready to finalise the negotiations with Sane imminently, with even director Max Eberl publicly confirming that it was only a matter of actually signing off on the deal.
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Sane blows his future wide open
However, on Sunday evening, it all seemed to be kicking off in German football. Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions after Leverkusen drew with Freiburg, Wolfsburg and promotion-chasing second-tier giants Koln sacked their coaches and Sane’s extension went up in smoke.
As both BILD and Sky Germany report, the 29-year-old decided to ditch his agency and sign with superagent Pini Zahavi, which means that the terms previously discussed are no longer valid.
This has blown Sane’s future wide open as Bayern will have to sit down with him again and thrash out a new deal. Eberl is still keen to keep him, but it is unclear whether the rest of the Munich brass are willing to negotiate again after these last-minute shenanigans.
Even before this twist, there were several critical voices at Bayern who believed that Sane wasn’t worth keeping, which attracted the attention of Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta has never made a secret of the fact that he still has a good relationship with his former Man City colleague, and Sane would be an ideal backup for Bukayo Saka, especially on a free transfer.
Arsenal, German media claims, remain keen on Sane and could be emboldened by his U-turn to make a formal move for the winger.
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