Ruben Amorim suffers early transfer blow as he's forced to rethink Man Utd plans

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has been dealt a transfer blow with Bayern Munich reportedly ruling out a January exit for winger Leroy Sane.

Former Manchester City star Sane is struggling to pick up minutes under boss Vincent Kompany at the Allianz Arena this season, starting just one game in the Bundesliga so far.

Kompany has instead opted to play new signing Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman on the flanks - though he did decide to start Sane as Bayern beat St. Pauli 1-0 on the weekend.

Bayern risk losing Sane for nothing next summer, with his contract expiring in 2025, and the club are not any closer to striking an agreement, according to Sky in Germany.

The report says both parties are still optimistic of agreeing a new contract for Sane, who earns around £16.5million a year at Bayern, as the club bid to reduce his salary by as much as £3.3million.

And while there is still huge uncertainty over Sane at Bayern, the prospect of the player leaving in January "can be ruled out at this stage", the report goes on, even with the risk of losing him on a free transfer in 2025.

That would be a hammer blow to United, who have been linked with a move for Sane, as Amorim looks to freshen up his squad amid their worst start to a Premier League season.

Sky's report also says Arsenal have joined United in monitoring Sane "very closely", with both teams ready to make their move if Bayern make a U-turn on wanting to sell the winger.

In addition to Sane, United have also been linked with Amorim's old Sporting Lisbon stars Geovany Quenda and Viktor Gyokeres - though the latter is not expected to be pursued by United until at least next summer.

Sane discussed his future in April and said he was not concerned about the looming end of his contract. "It depends on a few things," he said. "I’m not worried about that right now. I’m in the here and now. My representatives are in contact with Bayern and that will probably intensify a bit in the next few weeks."

Sane has netted 51 times from 186 appearances since joining Bayern from City for around £37million in 2020, helping Bayern win seven trophies.