Manchester City are not in talks with Bayern Munich about Germany winger Leroy Sane .
And even if the 23-year-old star does decide to go, and the Bundesliga giants stump up a fee of up to £100million, the Blues will not be spending any of it on Mikel Oyarzabal.
Bayern have yet again stepped up their very public pursuit of Sane, with coach Niko Kovac at the weekend expressing his confidence that the player will join them.
“Our board is very engaged in this situation. I am confident, I think we can get him,” said Kovac.
That was the boldest statement yet to come out of the Bayern camp, after a summer of players, past and present, suggesting that Sane is on his way to them.
But there have been no talks between the clubs, and it seems there are none planned at present.
Reports from Spain suggest that City have already lined up £68million Real Sociedad left winger Mikel Oyarzabal as Sane's replacement, but the Blues - barring a change of mind - are not planning to replace Sane if he does decide to leave.
City boss Pep Guardiola last week said that the ball is firmly in Sane’s court.
City want him to stay, he still has two years left on his contract, and negotiations with Sane about a lucrative new contract are ongoing.
There is also a rumour that new kit supplier PUMA may be dangling a sweetener in front of the exciting youngster in a bid to get him to stay and sign a £1million boot deal with them.
Sane’s representatives are quite happy for Bayern’s noise to continue, as it gives them leverage in negotiations with City.
But the Blues will want some form of commitment from the player, because if he does not want to stay, they would prefer to sell him this summer, rather than next, as his value will drop considerably.
There is no rush for Bayern to start talks – although the Premier League transfer window closes next week, the Bundesliga window is still open until September 2.
That gives the German club over a month in which to make a move for Sane – or to keep on talking about it.
