Football transfer rumours: Leroy Sané to return to the Premier League?

The Guardian

a day ago

Leroy Sané has been heavily linked with a move back to England this summer but looks as if he is going to swap Bayern Munich for Galatasaray, with the Turkish champions reportedly in advanced talks to sign the German international. Sané's contract in Bavaria will run out at the end of the month and, despite an improved offer from Bayern, the winger is favouring Gala after they tabled an offer with wages close to £200,000 a week. Sané's Mr 15%, Pini Zahavi, is still open to counter-offers but Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham will need to move fast if they want to win the race for the 29-year-old.
Bayern want to replace Sané with Nico Williams after club scouts expertly identified, along with the rest of Europe, that the Spaniard is very, very good at football. Athletic Bilbao have not given up on keeping their academy product, offering the Pamplona-born winger a new contract, but the release clause of €58m (£48m) means that Bayern (and others) maintain their interest. If Bayern do not get their man, PSG's Bradley Barcola is another name linked – the young Frenchman was named on the bench for the Champions League final, with Désiré Doué, Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia the preferred front three.
The Florian Wirtz saga has kept us gainfully employed for a couple of weeks now, but it looks like it is coming to an end after Bayer Leverkusen agreed a deal with Liverpool – thought to be around £127m, including add-ons – for the playmaker. Just what that means for Darwin Núñez remains to be seen. Liverpool rejected an offer of €70m (£60m) from Al-Nassr in January and now Al-Hilal are thought to be keen.
Al-Hilal also offered a lorry full of cash for Theo Hernández, but the Milan full-back rejected the move and instead looks poised to go back to Atlético Madrid – the Frenchman came through Atléti's academy, joining the club at nine, before moving across town to Real Madrid in 2017.
Things are looking up for Manchester United fans: the club are in talks to extend the contract of third-choice keeper Tom Heaton, 67, for another year. Oh, and in completely normal behaviour for a club that finished just above the relegation zone, United want to sign Napoli's Victor Osimhen – who has a release clause of €75m (£63m) – and could use Joshua Zirkzee as a makeweight. The Dutch striker thrived in Serie A with Bologna before his move to Old Trafford.
Fresh from running the show for Belgium against Wales, Kevin De Bruyne looks set to buy a few gallons of sun cream after agreeing a two-year contract with Napoli. The 33-year-old will join the Italian champions on a free transfer.
Where will Jamie Vardy land after his exit from Leicester City? The Rumour Mill would love to see the Englishman's very particular brand in MLS – but the 38-year-old surely has the quality to remain in Britain, whether it is in the Premier League, Championship or in Scotland – Rangers and Celtic have both been linked with the striker.
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James Trafford was arguably the best player in the Championship last year as Burnley conceded a preposterously low 16 goals in 46 matches but, despite gaining promotion to the Premier League, the goalkeeper could yet move on to Newcastle. Nick Pope, a key performer in goal for the Magpies last season, is likely to be unimpressed with those rumours, especially with just one year remaining on his Newcastle contract.