German wonderkid perfectly suited to revive Man City’s right
Published:
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola appears to be making a shrewd move as the Spaniard addresses an area of weakness within the squad he inherits from predecessor Manuel Pellegrini.
On the day after Germany advanced as Group winners to Euro 2016’s knockout stages, the gossip columns are awash with news Die Mannschaft winger Leroy Sane could soon be a City player – to the tune of £40m.
Given the inflated state of the transfer market, what seems like a huge outlay for a 20-year-old should actually prove to be money well spent.
Although Joachim Low is yet to give Sane any Euros exposure, Guardiola has obviously already been swayed by the Schalke winger’s talents, having witnessed them firsthand in the Bundesliga over recent campaigns.
Sane is an explosive winger with a storage container full of tricks and crucially for City’s aspirations next season, a keen eye for goal as well.
One of Germany’s most promising players found the net nine times for Schalke during a dazzling 2015/16 campaign rewarded with a place in the world champion’s Euros squad.
When you compare this to the player Sane will be in direct competition with at the Etihad Stadium should he make the proposed switch, the lack of flies on Guardiola becomes even more apparent.
Jesus Navas has been a staple on the right of City’s three-pronged attack under Pellegrini and although he has contributed an average of 7.5 assists across three Premier League seasons, he has failed to register a single top-flight goal in the last two.
Compare this to many of the EPL’s leading protagonists in his position and that’s a stinging statistic for the 30-year-old.
Teammate Kevin De Bruyne notched seven in 11 fewer appearances starting predominantly from the left, while the likes of Tottenham’s flank men Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela scored six and five league goals respectively.
With David Silva’s powers of sorcery arguably showing the first signs of diminishing at 30 also, Sane’s muted signing looks like adding freshness at a very opportune moment for the Citizens.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
