:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69767494/1234806244.0.jpg)
Update 12:00 PM EST
According to Sport Bild journalist Christian Falk (per Twitter account @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich has not held talks with RB Leipzig, but has had extensive communication with midfielder Marcel Sabitzer:
• No talks between Bayern and Leipzig for Marcel Sabitzer ❌
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) August 24, 2021
• Talks between Bayern and Sabitzer's agent ✔️
[@cfbayern]
As captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia, SPOX and Goal’s Kerry Hau is reporting that Bayern Munich has a verbal agreement in place with Sabitzer, but RB Leipzig is waiting for an offer of €15 million.
Bayern have a verbal agreement with Sabitzer. Hasan Salihamidžić is in close contact with Sabitzer's agent Roger Wittmann. Now it's to Bayern whether to make an offer or not. Leipzig are waiting and want around €15m. But currently there's no movement [@kerry_hau, @spox]
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) August 24, 2021
Internally, it seems that the front office could be having second thoughts about a potential move as well per Hau:
There are currently no offers to sign either Tolisso or Cuisance permanently. However, Cuisance could still be loaned out, and his agents are looking for suitors. Cuisance's chances of game time at FC Bayern are slim [@kerry_hau, @spox]
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) August 24, 2021
Or...Bayern Munich is leaking that they might be doubting the move, to haggle the price down even further.
What to believe? Who to believe? It really does not matter at this stage.
If RB Leipzig does not sell Sabitzer in the coming days, he will almost assuredly leave for free. That is something that Die Roten Bullen probably does not want to happen under any circumstance.
RB Leipzig Chief Marketing Officer Florian Scholz has denied the rumors that his club is in discussions with Bayern Munich about “a player.”
That unnamed player, of course, is midfielder Marcel Sabitzer. On Monday, we saw the report that Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig were close to finalizing a deal for Sabitzer, who has linked to the Bavarians for almost a month now.
The major revelation in that news is that the transfer fee was in the neighborhood of €13-€14 million, which seems absurdly low for Sabitzer. More, Bayern Munich was — allegedly — haggling to drive the price down even more.
Interestingly, the same journalist who filed the report on Monday, Leipziger Volkszeitung’s Guido Schäfer, tweeted the latest information regarding the lack of contact:
„Der FC Bayern München hat keinen Kontakt bezüglich eines Spielers zu uns aufgenommen." Sagt soeben RB-Führungskraft Florian Scholz.
— Guido Schäfer (@schfer_g) August 24, 2021
“FC Bayern Munich has not contacted us about a player,” said RB manager Florian Scholz.
With just seven days left in the summer transfer window and a myriad of stories and rumors detailing Sabitzer’s desire to move to Bayern Munich — and the Rekordmeister’s desire to bring him in — it seems highly unlikely that the two sides have not communicated.
Whatever the case, there is not much time for the clubs to get a deal completed. If Sabitzer remains with Die Roten Bullen past this window it would almost certainly ensure that RB Leipzig will lose him for free next summer. That would represent a completely insane business strategy on a valuable asset like Sabitzer.