Bayern to return with January bid for Sane

Cape Town - Manchester City winger Leroy Sane remains a top transfer target for Bayern Munich, with the German champions expected to return with a £100 million offer in January.

The Manchester City winger is still in the early stages of recovery following surgery to repair the damaged cruciate knee ligament injury he sustained in last month's Community Shield victory over Liverpool.

Bosses at the Etihad slapped a £140 million valuation on the Germany international during the summer, in a bid to scare away a very public courting of Sane by the Bundesliga giants.

Reports in Germany are mixed, with some sections of the media stating Sane was simply using the Bavarians' interest to get a bigger contract out of his present employers.

City still want Sane to stay and are understood to have offered him a five-year deal worth around £180 000-per-week - which is £100 000-per-week less than Bayern were seemingly touting to his agents.

But the belief remains inside City that Bayern will try their luck again early in the new year, with the hope of getting him considerably cheaper, in light of his big injury.

Sane, 23, still has two years left on his present contract and City are confident there will be other big club bidders next summer, should he not commit his long-term future by then.

That could be another reason why Bayern are expected to resurrect talks in the coming weeks, fearing an auction if the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid do decide to get involved.

The La Liga giants previously expressed an interest in Sane when he made the first-team breakthrough at his boyhood club, Schalke, but were caught on the hop when City made their own move and signed the rapid forward for £37 million back in 2016.

Sane has since established himself as one of the best young players in world football, scoring 39 goals and grabbing 34 assists, also scooping the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2018.

Despite that, the German starlet struggled for starts last season under City boss Pep Guardiola, handing Bayern plenty of encouragement they can still entice the player.

Meanwhile, City are preparing for their next outing in the Premier League when they make the trip to Norwich City after the international break.

Guardiola's side currently find themselves two points off frontrunners Liverpool, with City's 2-2 draw with Tottenham scuppering a perfect winning record so far.

- TeamTalk Media