Leroy Sane looks to have changed his mind on signing a new contract with Bayern Munich as he continues to be linked with a move to Liverpool.
The attacker has starred for Bayern this season, scoring nine goals and notching nine assists in all competitions. But his contract will expire in 18 months' time, with Bayern keen to tie him down to fresh terms to extend his stay at the Allianz Arena.
There was an expectation that Sane would be putting pen to paper a new deal imminently. Things appear to have now changed though, with doubts growing that Sane will in fact remain at the Bundesliga giants, or if he will assess him options in the summer.
According to BILD, Sane now wants to wait until after this summer's European Championships before making his decision. If he enjoys a successful tournament, it is expected several suitors will grow interested in the former Manchester City star.
That would then make a possible extension more expensive for Bayern to complete. Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund has already approached Sane's agents in the hopes of securing an extension, though it appears he will have to wait.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dashSane has enjoyed a brilliant season so far and will feature for Germany in his homeland at Euro 2024 next summer. Despite the noise around his future plans, the attacker is trying to stay focused on his club form.
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"I've been pleased with my own performances recently, but I don't like to give myself such superlatives. In any case I'll do my best to make sure it continues this way until the end of the season," he told Bayern's club website.
"The pressure at a club like FC Bayern is much too high to be able to rest on your own performances. On top of that, there's still a long way to go this season. Up to now it's gone quite well.
"But I also want to be on it when we head into the crucial period in the Champions League and the league in the spring. I have very high demands of myself there, which I always want to meet, just like the demands of my coach."
Sane will be part of a Germany squad which is facing a sense of apathy from their supporters after a dreadful year of form under Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann. And the Bayern star has admitted it is up to the team to spark a sense of anticipation for the tournament.
"We obviously all sense that the euphoria isn't really there yet among our fans – for understandable reasons. We all want to do everything to make the tournament a similar success to the home World Cup in 2006," he added.
"I'm sure the euphoria will arrive for the first game. It's our task as a team to start the tournament well so that the fans can then carry us through the matches. It's just about getting off to a positive start in the group stage and not thinking ahead about the semi-final or final."