15 October 2023 , 18:44
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Manchester City stand to earn over £8million if Liverpool splash the cash on Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane.
Liverpool are preparing for life after Mohamed Salah and, as Mirror Football exclusively reported, they have identified Sane as their number one target. The Germany international has started the 2023/24 season in fantastic form and has caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp.
Sane is no stranger to the Premier League, having contributed 39 goals and 46 assists in 135 games for City between 2016 and 2020. The 27-year-old left City for Bayern in July 2020 when the German giants shelled out £55m for his signature, but a return to England could be on the cards.
Liverpool are willing to break their transfer record to land Sane in the event that Salah secures a big-money move to Saudi Arabia in 2024. Sane is under contract with Bayern until June 2025 and Thomas Tuchel’s side won’t let him go on the cheap.
The Reds are happy to spend more than the £80m it took to land Darwin Nunez from Benfica in June 2022. That would mean a hefty chunk of change going to their Premier League rivals because, as Manchester Evening News reported at the time, City inserted a 10 per cent sell-on clause in the deal which sent Sane to Bavaria.
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That was an astute piece of business, because Bayern only wanted to spend £30m and Sane only had one year left on his contract at the time. He has endured a mixed time at Bayern but has a record which reads 45 goals and 37 assists in 144 games – a very similar record to what he achieved at City.
Sane has seven goals in 11 appearances this season and is enjoying his football under Tuchel. “Thomas is incredibly meticulous about his work and leaves as little as possible to chance,” he told Bild in August.
Mo Salah was at the heart of interest from Al-Ittihad in the summer (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Is Leroy Sane a good replacement for Mohamed Salah? Comment below.
“He took over at a difficult time when things were turbulent around us. I’m sure that we are on the right track with him and that he is exactly the right coach for FC Bayern.
“I talk to him a lot. He gives me a very good feeling and I feel a lot of trust. I know myself that I could have scored a few more goals last season, there’s no doubt about that.”
If he does move to Liverpool next year, Sane will have big shoes to fill at Anfield. Salah has legendary status at Liverpool, where he has 192 goals and 83 assists in 315 games for the club. He has won the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League since joining from Roma in 2017 and has been a hugely consistent performer.
Liverpool managed to fend off interest from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad over the summer, but Klopp knows he can’t hold onto the Egyptian forever.