Leão, Barcola, Williams? The latest on possible Sané replacements | OneFootball

Following reports that Leroy Sané is joining Galatasaray, FC Bayern is more than ever on the lookout for reinforcements on the wings, especially for the left wing position.

We give you an overview of the current status of potential new signings for the record champions.

Who is Bayern's top candidate?

At the top of the list is said to be Nico Williams from Athletic Club in Bilbao. Max Eberl is said to have identified the Spaniard as the biggest transfer target for the Munich team, according to 'Bild'.

According to 'SportBild', there was already a meeting with the advisors of the 22-year-old during the Nations League Final Four tournament. Williams has a release clause in Bilbao and could leave Athletic Club for a fixed transfer fee of around 60 million euros.

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Another stumbling block in the transfer poker could be the striker's salary expectations, which are said to be between 15 and 20 million euros per year. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Williams would not accept a "normal salary".

According to 'Sky', Bayern's competitors for the favor of the striker also include the financially strong Arsenal FC. In addition, Bilbao is fighting to keep its superstar. The Basques are offering their striker a premature extension of his contract, which runs until 2027, with significantly improved conditions. He could become the top earner of the Champions League participant with almost ten million euros. Furthermore, Athletic guarantees further reinforcements to be competitive in the Champions League.

Are the rumors about Leão cold again?

Another transfer candidate for Bayern is said to have been Milan's Rafael Leão. There have been numerous different reports regarding a possible transfer fee, ranging from "at least 100 million euros" to "70 million euros, which Milan would also accept". Transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio even mentioned three potential players, Leon Goretzka, Kingsley Coman, or Minjae Kim, who could have been used in a kind of exchange deal. After the rumors about a possible move by the Portuguese to Munich had seemed hot in recent weeks, the contact with the offensive player from Milan is currently "cold", according to 'Bild'.

Conversations with the player's environment had led Bayern to put the efforts on hold for the time being. Also, because Leão, like Leroy Sané, lacks consistent good performances and the defensive work is internally considered not sufficient for Vincent Kompany's style of play.

Who else was in the conversation?

While Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma, or Takefusa Kubo from Real Sociedad were said to have been in the conversation in recent weeks, there have been no reports in this direction in recent days.

Instead, according to 'Sky' reporter Florian Plettenberg, Bradley Barcola from Champions League winner Paris-Saint-Germain is being looked at more closely.

The Frenchman would be in the same price range as Gakpo, Williams, or Leão with a market value of 70 million euros, but he still has a contract in Paris until 2028. This makes the situation extremely complicated.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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