Arsenal given Leroy Sane transfer green light as chief speaks out

Leroy Sane is available to leave Bayern Munich on a free transfer at the end of the current season, with Arsenal among the clubs to be linked with the German international

Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund has suggested the club are prepared for Leroy Sane to leave the club this summer. The Germany winger, who joined from Manchester City in 2020, is out of contract this summer and could leave for nothing if no extension is agreed.

Sane has been linked with Arsenal, in a potential reunion with Mikel Arteta. Gunners manager Arteta was at City for much of Sane's time at the Etihad Stadium, leaving a few months before the former Schalke man to take over in North London in December 2019.

Despite his contract being up in the summer, Sane has continued to play regularly under Vincent Kompany this term. He has 11 goals in 28 Bundesliga outings this term, including one in the 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig which - combined with Leverkusen's draw in Freiburg the following day - confirmed Kompany's side as champions.

When asked about Sane's future, Freund stopped short of confirming his exit but didn't give any indication the player might stick around. “Yes, absolutely," he said. when asked if Bayern were prepared to lose the star for nothing. "We’re always scouting and exploring the market. If a new situation arises, we would have to work on it intensively.”

Sane isn't the only out-of-contract Bayern player due to leave this summer. England international Eric Dier has been with the club since January 2024, but is expected to join Monaco this summer.

“We had discussions with Eric about a new contract," Freund said of Dier. "He told us that he doesn't want to extend and will leave us. He's a great guy. We had a great time together. Hopefully he crowns his time with us with his first title," the Bayern chief added before the weekend's action, and Dier will indeed leave as a Bundesliga champion.

Sane and Dier are both out of contract midway through the Club World Cup, where Bayern have been drawn in a group with Boca Juniors, Auckland City and Benfica. While clubs are permitted to agree short extensions with out-of-contract players for the tournament, it is unclear what will happen with the Bavarian club.

Early in his Bayern spell, Sane talked up the influence Arteta had on his career. "I can just say positive things about Mikel Arteta. Since we started working together, he has helped me a lot on the pitch," he told The Independent.

"He tried to improve my football, he told me what I did good and what I did wrong, and he tried to work on it. Next to Pep, they both really helped me and improved me, to bring me to the next level.

"Even now, at Arsenal, for me, you can see he's doing a great job. You can see he has a concept, a way that he wants to play, a way that he wants his team to play, and obviously, it will take some time until everybody really understands it. I think he will do a great job as a [head] coach too."