The National’s Transfer Talk page
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed the club are in talks with Schalke 04 attacking midfielder Leroy Sane but the move is stalling over the player's valuation.
“Sane is a player of Schalke. Of course we talk to him – Schalke knows we are interested, but at this moment we don’t have many possibilities to get him,” Guardiola told reporters.
The Spaniard was speaking after his side’s 1-0 friendly loss to his former club Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, his first game in charge of the English club.
“There is a difference between Manchester City and Schalke and it is quite big. I do not know what is going to happen but right now he is with Schalke,” he said of the 20-year-old Sane, who was in the Germany squad at the Euro 2016.
Schalke 04 sporting director Christian Heidel Winger has confirmed Sane has asked the club for a transfer.
Sane scored eight league goals and grabbed six assists for Schalke last season as the Bundesliga club finished fifth in the standings.
Mario Goetze returns to Dortmund from Bayern
Borussia Dortmund are bringing back forward Mario Goetze from Bayern Munich.
Goetze left Dortmund for Bayern in 2013 but never settled down and was mostly a bench player under previous coach Guardiola. New Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti had a talk with Goetze before assuming the post and reportedly did not try to keep the forward who scored the winning extra-time goal that gave Germany the World Cup title over Argentina at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
At the European Championship in France that ended earlier this month, Goetze did not play a major role.
Dortmund said Thursday that Goetze will sign a four-year contract once he’s passed the medical examination. Details of the deal were not released.
Real Madrid’s Mayoral confirms Wolfsburg loan
Real Madrid forward Borja Mayoral has announced he will join Bundesliga side Wolfsburg on loan but hopes to return to the Bernabeu stadium in the future.
The 19-year-old forward, who made six La Liga appearances for the Spanish giants last season, left Real’s training camp in Montreal, Canada, on Wednesday to join Wolfsburg on a one-year loan deal.
“Wolfsburg are a big name in German football and in the Bundesliga,” Mayoral said on Real’s official website. “I’m very happy and excited about the new chapter which lies ahead.
“I’ve had nine unforgettable seasons at Real Madrid and right now I’m feeling a lot of emotions.
“I’ve played for the best club in the world, something that very few players get the chance to do.
“I’m eternally grateful to Real Madrid and to all of my teammates and coaches.”
A youth product of Real, Mayoral, an under-21 Spain player, is hoping to follow the footsteps of 23-year-old forward Alvaro Morata.
Real bought back Morata last month for a pre-determined fee as part of the deal which saw the Spain international join Italian champions Juventus two years ago.
“I’m going to be gaining experience and will be looking to perform as well as I can to come back here,” Mayoral said.
“Morata’s case was similar to mine, he left and now he is back. “If he achieved it (return to Real), I believe I can too.”
Stoke hopeful for Arnautovic
Marko Arnautovic is yet to agree to a new contract with Stoke City but manager Mark Hughes is hopeful that the Austrian striker will commit his future to the Premier League club.
Arnautovic, who joined from German club Werder Bremen in 2013, has 12 months remaining in his four-year deal and has been linked with a move to Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain, according to British media reports.
"We are where we were with Marko, but we remain very hopeful of being able to keep him here," Hughes told the club's website.
“He isn’t going to rush into any decision – clearly he has had an offer on the table from ourselves for a period of time now but his advisors want to take a look at the options for him.”
Arnautovic, the club’s top scorer with 12 goals in all competitions last season, also racked up six assists to help the team to a ninth-place finish in the league.
“Marko knows what he has here and knows the environment that he is in, he is well liked in the dressing room and in the stands too, Hughes said. “Those sort of things are important to Marko, and he understands that.”
The 27-year-old was in Austria’s squad at the European Championship in France, where the team were eliminated at the group stages.
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