Pep Guardiola Insists Man City Want to Keep Contract Rebel Leroy Sane Amid Links With Bayern Munich

​Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is adamant the club want to keep hold of Germany international Leroy Sané next season.

The 23-year-old has been holding off on a new contract at Etihad Stadium despite being in talks with the club over an extension for 18 months, and Sané is increasingly being linked with a move away as he grows frustrated over a lack of playing time.

But Guardiola insists that Manchester City are desperate to keep Sané next season, although the Catalan manager conceded that the decision could be taken out of their hands if the former Schalke winger pushes for more game time elsewhere.

"With Leroy, we are one-and-a-half years trying to sign his new contract," Guardiola said, quoted by The Mirror. "We want him - if you want to extend his contract, it’s because you want him. You’re not going to extend his contract because you don’t want him. It’s like [İlkay] Gündoğan, for example - it’s the same case.

"Some movements we have to do for next season, yes, because people want to leave and players want to play. They accept not playing for a [certain] period but when the period is long, it’s normal that they want to play more."

Sané has spent the last three years at Manchester City and he's gone on to make 132 appearances for the club across all competitions, scoring 39 goals and claiming 45 assists during that time.

He can lift a sixth piece of silverware with the club this weekend as City prepare to take on Watford in the FA Cup final, but some fear it could be Sané's last game for the club as he continues to be linked with a move away.

Bayern Munich were heavily interested in Sané while he was on the books at Schalke and they've been tipped to reignite their interest to try and lure the Germany international away from the Premier League.