It doesn’t take long for transfer speculation to build up. Sunday’s title success was barely a few days old for Manchester City and, on Tuesday night, the Daily Record reported that Bayern Munich were opening discussions about the possible transfer of Leroy Sane. The prospect of Sane’s departure seemed to worry fans on social media but it really shouldn’t.
One of the biggest strengths of Pep Guardiola’s squad is his lack of reliance on particular individuals. Kevin de Bruyne, City’s best player in the 2017/18 season, has missed much of the current season with injury but you wouldn’t have guessed. His team will win the domestic treble on Saturday if they can manage to overturn Watford in the FA Cup final. The success of the team stems from the manager and the focus on the system. No player is too big for the club.
Manchester City Won’t Be Affected by Leroy Sane Sale
Sane-sational?
Sane is a super player. On his day, the German is unplayable and he has provided some real moments of magic since his move to Manchester in 2016. However, it seems that Sane is not satisfied with City’s new contract offers and the club do not want to come out second-best to the 23-year-old. If Sane left for free, the club would look like mugs for missing out on a potentially huge transfer fee. If they paid him a ridiculously high salary then the owners would be holding themselves to ransom when other players came to renew their contracts (Alexis Sanchez and Manchester United, for example).
Guardiola used Sane more sparsely in the second half of the Premier League season and this suggests why. The Spaniard is renown for thinking ahead of the game and it seems that reducing Sane’s minutes may have been to prepare for life after his potential departure. It’s not the first time that Guardiola has dropped the £37 million signing either, suggesting other conflicts were at play. Nonetheless, Guardiola would never panic if a player was unsatisfied; he would simply show them the door and continue with his work. That is the beauty of his project at City. Everybody knows who is in charge and player power will not be tolerated.
Sane could be a revelation at Bayern Munich. It was his performances in the Bundesliga that caught the eyes of City in the first place. His pace, skill, power and technical ability make him one of Europe’s deadliest wide-players. However, if the player feels the need to question the manager or those that pay his wages then City will not care about this. Giving players power too much power is a dangerous tactic. Just take a look over at the other side of Manchester.
Not United
The Daily Mirror has reported that United’s owners have overruled Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s request to sell Anthony Martial. Like predecessor Jose Mourinho, it’s thought that Solskjaer has been left unimpressed with the Frenchman’s work ethic but he is a favourite of the co-owner, Joel Glazer, and so his opinion has been undermined. A perfect antithesis with their city rivals, showcasing how not to run a football club. Chalk and cheese.
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