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Arsenal have officially pulled out of the race to sign Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane, according to fresh reports from Germany, leaving Premier League rivals Chelsea, Aston Villa and Newcastle United to continue monitoring the situation.
Sane, who joined Bayern from Manchester City in 2020 for £54.8 million, had been in talks over a contract extension with the Bundesliga club. However, those discussions stalled after the 29-year-old switched his representation to super-agent Pini Zahavi, resulting in increased salary demands. Bayern have since failed to reach an agreement with the Germany international, whose current deal expires at the end of June.
According to Sky Germany, Arsenal have decided to end their pursuit of Sane due to a change in their transfer strategy. The Gunners are said to be prioritising younger options for the summer window, with Real Madrid’s Rodrygo, Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, and Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens all ranked higher on Mikel Arteta’s shortlist.
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In a separate report, Sky Germany also claim that Arsenal are now “seriously involved” in a move to sign Rodrygo, who is among several Real Madrid players facing uncertain futures. The Spanish giants are reportedly waiting for the arrival of new head coach Xabi Alonso before making final decisions on outgoing transfers, but Rodrygo — once viewed as a key player under Carlo Ancelotti — could be one of those moved on this summer.
Leroy Sane (Image credit: Getty Images)As for Sane, Bayern now face the real possibility of losing the winger on a free transfer if no agreement is reached before the end of next month. Speaking last week, Max Eberl, Bayern’s board member for sport, confirmed that Sane had rejected the club’s most recent contract offer.
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“He said today that he doesn’t want to accept our offer in this form,” said Eberl. “There’s no bad blood. The offer is there. We’ve expressed our wish [to extend his contract]. You can feel, at least in my opinion, that Leroy wants to stay. Now we’ll see what happens in the next few days.”
Sane, who turned 29 in January, has made over 140 appearances for Bayern, contributing consistently with goals and assists, but his future now appears increasingly uncertain — with Arsenal’s withdrawal signalling a clear shift in the club’s long-term vision.
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