‘I have no eye on Sane at all’ - Rummenigge plays down Bayern's links to Man City star

Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has insisted that the Bavarian giants are not keeping tabs on Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.

The German wide-man had been strongly linked with a move back to the Bundesliga with reigning league champions Bayern, but no move materialised as City held out for a mammoth fee.

Any potential negotiations were brought to a definitive close when Sane suffered an ACL injury in the Community Shield that has ruled him out for a significant chunk of this season.

However, rumours linking the winger with a return to Germany have persisted, as talk of a renewed January bid for Sane has emerged.

Rummenigge, though, has moved to shut down that speculation, saying that he did not want to talk about another club’s player.

"To be honest I have no eye on him at all because I don't speak about players of other clubs in public,” Rummenigge told reporters.

“The FIFA rules don't allow that anyway. And I will always stick to that."

Sane hit 16 goals and recorded a further 18 assists last season in 47 appearances across all competitions but was used sparingly by Pep Guardiola in the final few months of the season, leading to talk that a rift had emerged between the coach and his player.

In his absence, City have made what can be considered – by their own high standards – a stuttering start to their Premier League title defence, losing 3-2 against newly-promoted Norwich City and falling five points behind early league leaders Liverpool.

The German has been joined by Aymeric Laporte and John Stones on the treatment table as City appear defensively more vulnerable than they were last year.

Bayern Munich are top of the Bundesliga but draws against Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig have meant that they have been unable to open up a significant gap on their rivals, with just three points separating them from eighth-placed Borussia Dortmund.

Following the departures of veteran wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, summer signing Ivan Perisic and youngster Alphonso Davies have been tasked with filling the void in wide areas, but another addition would certainly not go amiss.