Having already brought in Ilkay Gundogan, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nolito in this transfer window, Man City’s summer recruitment drive under new boss Pep Guardiola continued on Tuesday with the signing of Schalke 04 attacker Leroy Sane for a reported £37 million.
The 20-year-old put pen to paper on a five-year deal at the Etihad, and speaking to the club’s official website about the move, said the opportunity to work with Guardiola was one of the key factors in making the move to Manchester:
“One of the reasons I decided to join City was Pep Guardiola; he convinced me to come here and that I can continue to progress. I know I will learn a lot under him and now I can take the next step in my career. I followed Pep at Barcelona and at Bayern where he achieved a lot and worked really well with young players. I think he can make me a more complete player. I think I will need a bit of time to start with because it’s another league and there’s a different style of play but I think I can adapt very quickly.”
The History
Sane spent his formative years at SG Wattenscheid 09 before joining Schalke at the age of nine. After a couple of seasons at Bayer Leverkusen he returned to Schalke’s academy as a 16-year-old, and would go on to make his Bundesliga debut for Die Konigsblauen against Stuttgart in April 2014.
The 2014/15 season saw Sane gain further first-team opportunities, scoring three goals and registering an assist in 13 league matches, while he netted on his Champions League debut in a last 16 tie at Real Madrid, which Schalke won 4-3.
Last season, Sane established himself as a regular starter, making 33 league appearances in total, scoring eight goals and racking up six assists.
Sane represented his country at Under 19 and Under 21 level, scoring nine goals in 17 matches, before making his senior debut as a substitute in a 2-0 friendly defeat to France last November. He was a member of Germany’s squad that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016, but only made one appearance – playing 11 minutes as a substitute against hosts France.
The Prospects
While Guardiola was already able to call upon the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Nolito and Raheem Sterling for the attacking midfield positions, the Spaniard was quick to talk up Sane’s potential after concluding the deal to bring him to the Etihad:
“He has great technical ability, is comfortable on the ball and there is much to admire about the way he plays football. He is fast, enjoys creating chances for others, works hard for the team and scores goals, too. He also has a very positive attitude and will fit in well with our squad. At 20, he is still developing as a player but he is already a member of the German national side and I think he will be a fantastic asset to our club.”
If, as expected, Guardiola favours a 4-2-3-1 or even a 4-3-3 formation, Sane looks set to compete primarily with De Bruyne, Silva, Nolito and Sterling for a starting berth, with the latter’s playing time appearing the most at threat given Sane shares many of the same characteristics.
The German international is versatile enough to feature on either flank, in the number ten role or even as a false nine, although he played the majority of his football on the right wing last season. Sane’s arrival certainly means the likes of Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas now look surplus to requirements as the new manager makes him stamp on the final third.
Sane possesses explosive pace, and has strong technical ability, with dribbling, in particular, a major strength. His decision making in the final third should only improve with experience, although the physical nature of the Premier League could at first be a slight challenge for the 20-year-old, given his wiry physique.
The German’s underlying statistics from last season illustrate he isn’t much of a playmaker, only registering a key pass every 82.6 minutes, worse than De Bruyne (24.7), Silva (26.9), Nolito (41.2) and Sterling (55.1).
Sane’s goal threat was much more impressive, producing a goal attempt every 34 minutes, which was stronger than Sterling (37.1), De Bruyne (40.9) and Silva (62.1) last term, although fellow new arrival Nolito did lead the way, averaging a shot every 30.5 minutes for Celta Vigo.
It’s expected that Sane will be available for around 8.0 or 8.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), given Silva and Nolito have been handed 9.0 price tags and Sterling sets you back 8.0. The new boy should be classified as a midfielder, considering his appearances as a striker have been few and far between.
Given Sane’s relative inexperience at the highest level, there has to be question marks over whether he can immediately command a regular starting berth until he acclimatises to life in England. As was the case with Sterling’s arrival last summer, City look to have bought potential in the young German, and while his undoubted quality should see him impress at times this season, consistency could be an issue.
Sane’s acquisition merely strengthens Guardiola’s hand in attacking midfield and could lead to greater rotation over the campaign. This could allow the City boss a chance to manage Silva’s minutes – the Spaniard was limited to just 22 starts last term and continues to be hampered by hamstring and ankle concerns.
For now, De Bruyne remains our preferred option from the City midfield, then, but with the Belgian only returning to pre-season training this week following his Euro 2016 exertions, there’s perhaps a chance even he could be rotated during the opening three Gameweeks as he builds up his match fitness. City also face two Champions League qualifiers this month.
Looking at the schedule, City’s opening fixtures (SUN, sto, WHM, mun, BOU, swa) are generally pretty favourable, with the plum home fixtures against Sunderland and Bournemouth in particular offering the temptation to double up on their attack.
Although City’s midfield clearly has the potential to offer us at least one reliable big-hitter, with chopping and changing potentially on the cards, many may initially opt for Aguero alone in their opening 15-man squads until we get a better idea of the new manager’s intentions.
At present, there’s no shortage of in-form premium midfielders as alternatives, with the likes of Eden Hazard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez all amongst the goals in pre-season already.
