Leroy Sane has reportedly changed his mind about signing a new contract with Bayern Munich amid links of a possible return to the Premier League with current league leaders Liverpool.
The 27-year-old has been excellent for the Bundesliga champions this season, scoring nine goals and providing nine assists across all competitions.
The German international joined The Bavarians from Manchester City back in 2020 and signed a five-year contract worth in the region of £40m that would keep him at the club until 2025.
Sane entered the final 18 months of his current deal with Bayern this month, and due to his excellent form this season, it is understood that the Bundesliga giants are keen to extend his stay in Germany.
However, according to Bild, while the winger was expected to sign a new deal soon, he is now opting to postpone his decision until after this summer's European Championships.
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It is understood that if he performs well in the tournament, more clubs might express interest in making an offer for his services, and he intends to keep his options open until then.
The report adds that Christoph Freund, Bayern's sporting director, has already opened discussions with Sane's agents in an attempt to secure an extension for the player, but it seems that he will have to be patient as Sane wants to consider all his options.
"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," Sane 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."
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The German national side has had a disappointing couple of years under Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann, and Sane acknowledged that it is the team's responsibility to ignite a sense of excitement and anticipation for the upcoming 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."
Additional interest from new potential suitors will likely make it more expensive for Bayern to keep hold of their in-form winger.
Goal reported recently that Sane's previous employer, Manchester City, had surprisingly joined Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in the race to bring him back to the Premier League.
The winger has secured five league titles in the last six seasons, winning the Premier League twice with Man City in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, before clinching the Bundesliga title three consecutive times since joining Bayern in the 2020-21 season.
Devesh Jaganath
