Arsenal are now ‘back in the race’ to sign former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane after Bayern Munich set a contract deadline, according to reliable journalist Florian Plettenberg.
The Gunners are looking to bring in a winger and a new centre-forward as their next transfer priorities after reportedly sealing a deal for Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
Arsenal are looking to provide competition to Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka on the wings with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams and Real Madrid’s Rodrygo among the players linked with a move.
But one player who could save Arsenal a lot of money in the summer transfer window is Bayern Munich winger Sane with the Germany international out of contract at the end of the season.
Arsenal have been linked previously but the possibility of him signing a new contract at Bayern Munich put Sane to the back of their minds.
Bayern Munich CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told Abendzeitung earlier this month: “Leroy is having a good season. Zahavi is an experienced agent, not always easy to negotiate with. But that’s just how it is. We’ll see how it goes. Max Eberl is doing an excellent job with Christoph Freund.”
READ: Six Leverkusen standouts reassigned post-Alonso to Real Madrid with Liverpool given two signings
President Herbert Hainer also added on Sane’s contract situation: “I don’t know his motives. We’ve usually almost always reached an agreement with [Pini] Zahavi. I’m an optimist by nature. Leroy has said often enough that he wants to stay.”
But the lack of an agreement in mid-May between Bayern – who aren’t budging on their latest offer – and Sane has given Arsenal encouragement and they have now rejoined the race.
Plettenberg wrote on X: ‘FC Bayern are sticking to their offer for Leroy #Sané: around €10 million fixed plus €5.5 million in bonuses, as revealed — ideally with no signing fee and a contract running until 2028.
‘Max Eberl wants clarity by or just after the weekend: “Leroy and his agency know what we want and they know the conditions. We hope he decides for us.” Arsenal are back in the race. Other teams from England are also waiting for his decision. … with Bayern also counting on the fact that Sané has publicly stated that he wants to stay.’
MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365…
👉Big Weekend: FA Cup final, Goodison goodbye, Wood, Arteta, Ajax’s epic Eredivisie choke
👉Arsenal, Man Utd ‘offered’ two-time Premier League winner as Euro giants seek ‘quick response’
👉Arsenal ‘accelerate’ shock move for Newcastle star as ‘advanced’ talks for £60m star revealed
Nigel Winterburn will be glad to see Arsenal looking to sign a creative winger with the former Gunners defender doubting a new striker will solve all their issues.
Winterburn told BetVictor: “The solution to Arsenal’s problems isn’t as simple as signing a new striker. You can buy a new striker, but if you aren’t creating enough opportunities then he won’t help. A striker is someone who you really want to make the difference in the big moments, scoring important goals. I say the same about goalkeepers – you want them to make important saves in big games. You see a lot of strikers around Europe scoring huge amounts of goals, but the ones you remember are in the big games.
“I do still think they need to look at that area, though. That said, they still need to make sure they are doing everything else right, because if you’re not stable defensively and you’re not creating chances, then a striker isn’t going to solve anything. Each section of the pitch has to be right and the mentality of the players has to be there, as it has been for large periods under Mikel Arteta.”