Bayern Munich refuse to include David Alaba in a swap deal for Leroy Sane

This week on Keeping Up With The Bavarians, we have a small update to both the David Alaba and Leroy Sane storylines. The writers have chosen to rehash an old plot, with The Athletic claiming that Bayern Munich will not include the Austrian in a swap deal with Manchester City.

The article, penned by the reliable David Ornstein, says that City are looking for a new center back to bolster their backline. Since the departure of Vincent Kompany, Pep Guardiola’s side have been beset by injuries to the backline, with both Aymeric Laporte and John Stones missing significant amounts of game time this season. The Citizens were apparently looking to sign Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar, who would have to change his name to Manchester Skriniar to make the transfer a reality.

With David Alaba yet to sign a new contract, Bayern could have chosen to include the Austrian as part of a deal to get Leroy Sane for cheap. If Alaba is indeed hell-bent on a change of scenery, it would have made sense. However, the report claims that the Bavarians consider Alaba important enough to keep him for another year and lose him for free, rather than sell him now. This makes a lot of sense, given how the player has performed this season — after shifting from left back to center back, Alaba has arguably been the best defender the club has seen since Jerome Boateng in his prime.

Christian Falk of Bild backs up this notion, saying that a swap deal was never a realistic option for either Bayern or Alaba:

Well that’s it for today’s edition of Keeping Up With The Bavarians. What will the writers have in store for us next time? Will a meteor strike the Etihad? Will Pep Guardiola finally grow some hair? Follow us on Bavarian Football Works for all the juicy details.