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Why Manchester City Moved Ahead of the Market on Sane

By Stephen Little

AUGSBURG, GERMANY - MAY 29: Leroy Sane of Germany runs with the ball during the international friendly match between Germany and Slovakia at WWK-Arena on May 29, 2016 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
AUGSBURG, GERMANY - MAY 29: Leroy Sane of Germany runs with the ball during the international friendly match between Germany and Slovakia at WWK-Arena on May 29, 2016 in Augsburg, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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With Schalke 04 confirming the transfer of Leroy Sane to Manchester City, we examine exactly why the Blues had to get him now at such a seemingly steep cost.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: There’s too much money in football these days. When I say that line out loud, I sound almost exactly like my father lamenting the same thing nearly 20 years ago. All these signings over £1million, it’s crazy, he would postulate. In today’s market, that money could barely buy Chelsea a new team doctor.

One could argue that things are different from they ever were today. Never mind inflation, football is changing. Premier League football all the moreso. With an injection of TV rights money this season, even minnow clubs in England’s top flight are throwing around bids for players north of £20million, a territory previously reserved for an elite few who played at its peak. There are good things to this of course, healthy competition each and every game being one of them, but bad things are aplenty such as Watford turning down bids of £25million for, of all people, Troy Deeney.

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In situations as the latter, you know the market has taken a sudden and unexpected nosedive to the overly-expensive. For this reason, it seems, Manchester City and others have looked elsewhere for a majority of their talent this summer. City in particular have found value in trumps, spending a mere £14million on Spanish International Nolito and 25 million on world-class central midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

That said, this whole frugal spending thing doesn’t befit the club with access to unlimited funds and resources, so a big splash or two was all but inevitable. Enter Leroy Sane, much rumoured and now much through the door, at a both expensive yet now somehow relatively good value £37million. The 20-year-old now former Schalke 04 winger combines pace, skill and an eye for goal in a way that captivated Pep Guardiola during his tenure with Bayern Munich last season and the City manager moved to have him brought to the Etihad as a priority.

Citizens will doubtless just be relieved that Pep got his man, but perhaps more important than this is the timing. Yes, the price does seem steep for such a young player, but both Schalke and Pep believe he’s worth it and his 8 goals and 6 assists in 23 appearances in the Bundesliga last season would back that up.

For the record, City weren’t alone in interest. Persistent links with Real Madrid caused concern, but certainly it was the ever-looming spectre of Bayern Munich that made Manchester City move now. Sane going to Bayern would have been natural progression. A young German superstar in the making heading to the country’s mega-club, success all but guaranteed, to replace the aging Frank Ribery or Arjen Robben on the wings.

One little sticking point stood in the way of said Bayern move, however. Next season would have seen the unlocking of a release clause in Sane’s contract, for much less than the amount City paid Schalke, and would have allowed Munich the opportunity to negotiate directly with Sane without Schalke’s interference. However, without said release clause, the ball is firmly in Schalke’s court and Bayern couldn’t hope to beat out City in a price war.

What this all means is, Manchester City couldn’t afford the risk of waiting until next season to snatch up Sane. It’s clear he represents a big part of Pep’s plans for the future, but in the present he also gives an instant upgrade to the starting XI and, for all that, City had to move now.

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In the end, this deal doesn’t do much to stave off the feeling that prices in football are just a bit too high. But you know what? It’s a good signing for Manchester City and if it’s their money, let them spend it how they see fit and lets us just enjoy the football that comes out of it. With Leroy Sane at City, it’s going to be good.

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