I rejected Reds move - Sane

Leroy Sane says that he rejected the chance to join Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool before signing for Manchester City.

The pacey winger has been in spectacular form for City this season, scoring six goals and supplying nine assists for the runaway Premier League leaders.

City bought the Germany international from Schalke in a reported £37million deal in August 2016, after attracting several suitors following his impressive performances in the Bundesliga.

Compatriot Klopp was among those keen to bring in Sane, but the Reds boss was unable to convince him to choose Merseyside over Manchester.

"Yes, I was also talking with them," Sane told The Guardian. "Jurgen was calling me too, talking to me. That was before I joined City.

"He did a good job at [Borussia] Dortmund – I met him when he was there. He's a good guy, nice guy – honest. He [has] worked well with Liverpool."

12 January 2018

Sane could have linked up with Klopp sooner, but opted not to switch Schalke for Dortmund when he was rising through the ranks.

He added: "Yes, there was a time when I was still in the academy that I could have gone there from Schalke but there were no thoughts at all to move to a rival."

Sane scored twice when City battered Liverpool 5-0 in September, but he issued a warning to his team-mates ahead of the in-form Reds' revenge mission at Anfield on Sunday.

"They have a very good team, good strikers," he said. "[Roberto] Firmino, [Mohamed] Salah, [Sadio] Mane – quick players. They will look for mistakes from us and try to play counter-attacks.

"That's why it's a tough game. It was an equal game at the start of the season because they also had chances to score the first goal."