Newcastle United are frequently touted as a landing spot for a number of big-name players.
By and large, the PIF era at Newcastle has not been defined by moves for superstar signings, with the club instead focusing on buying younger players not fully established at the top level.
It has certainly served them well and recruitment staff are, rightly, understood to be proud of their additions since the takeover despite Paul Mitchell’s rather scathing analysis of the recruitment strategy.
Still, the links continue, even if the player in question would not appear to fit the profile Newcastle have generally targeted over the last few years.
Take Bayern Munich and Germany star Leroy Sane, for example. Certainly a huge talent, ex-Bayern boss and newly-appointed England Thomas Tuchel chief claimed the winger is a talent “who can dominate”.
The former Manchester City star has been touted as a target for a while now but it seems a move is very unlikely indeed.
German football expert Christian Falk explains why.
How Leroy Sane feels about a potential move to Newcastle United
Speaking to Caught Offside, Falk claimed Newcastle were interested in the 28-year-old, who is out of contract at the Allianz Arena next summer.
Still, a move to St James’ Park is not thought to be of interest to Sane at this stage.
“He would like to stay but Bayern have to offer him a contract that he’s willing to accept. He’s on €20m a year,” he said.
“If they don’t make him such a good offer as their last one, he will be open to hearing proposals from other clubs. Newcastle United is interested but they’re not, at the moment, a club which is interesting for him.”
Why Newcastle shouldn’t sign Leroy Sane anyway
Falk also revealed that Sane is on an annual salary of around £16.5m a year with Bayern – which would roughly equate to around £320k-per-week.
That, frankly, would blow Newcastle’s current wage structure apart.
Their current highest earner is thought to be Bruno Guimaraes on £160k-per-week. Sane, approaching 30 and having suffered a number of injuries throughout his career, earns roughly double that.
With that in mind, Newcastle should steer clear even if his potential status as a free agent makes him slightly more appealing…
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