Pep Guardiola brought Leroy Sané to the Etihad to bring a greater pure attacking edge to his possession-heavy system. That’s a very good thing.
After Tuesday’s announcement of German starlet Leroy Sané as the latest edition to Manchester City, I experienced what can only be described as contentedness. It’s not too different than that feeling of satisfaction in catching a Kangaskhan, Snorlax or Arcanine, all with high CP, of course, after hours upon hours of searching in Pokémon Go. Finally, I thought. It’s been a long, drawn out chase for Sané, but we…we got’em.
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But it’s time to look to what Sané gives City on the pitch. Now that we bagged Leroy, how does his set of skills and tendencies offer Pep Guardiola in City’s quest for footballing glory? I see a lot of promise to that end.
Sané, simply, is a dribbler. The first thing you notice about him is his fantastic ball and body control. He can see off challenges on the ball because of his underrated strength. Sané excels at running at defenses and causing havoc, which he did at Schalke with aplomb all of last season.
These qualities also make him a very direct player. He’s always in attack mode. Instead of playing a backwards ball in the opponent’s half, he’d rather take defenders on to either, shoot it cross it or slot an incisive ball behind for somebody else to put it in the back of the net.
Although he featured heavily on the right for Schalke, Sané’s skill-set let’s him be deployed in any of the four forward attacking positions of a 4-2-3-1, the formation Guardiola is likely to favor. He can even play as a false 9, given his clinical finishing, timing of runs and top speed once he gets up a full head of steam is quite a rousing combination.
Guardiola himself has this to say about the young German:
"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."
As for “fit,” he looks to compete primarily with Raheem Sterling and the newly signed Nolito. His and Nolito’s arrivals suggest Guardiola doesn’t have much interest in Jesus Navas or Samir Nasri. So we have a battle between three outside players for the two starting wing positions. That’s a good thing too. Competition, after all, breeds excellence, with which we want Manchester City to be synonymous. Ultimately, I think Sané is likely eventually to make one of those wing spots his own for years to come. If not, his attacking versatility will have him contribute to that burgeoning brand of excellence in some other way.
I must admit to salivating a bit when I consider a trio of Sergio Aguero, Kevin de Bruyne and Sané, especially on the counterattack. Sané and de Bruyne would run at defenders and or combine with one another before laying a decisive ball for Aguero to put the the exclamation point on a timeless statement about how football ought to be played in the Manchester City chapter of Pep Guardiola’s treatise on the “beautiful game.”
It’s interesting to note, however, Sané is not a possession-style sort of player. I’m sure, if he is to thrive at Guardiola-run City, he has to develop in that area of the game. His purchase might show Guardiola is adapting his tactics to be even more direct to create more of a balance between counterattacking and possessing the ball. Time will tell if such a shift indeed is taking place.
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What I will tell you is that Sané is an asset for City’s future at a cheaper cost than Sterling’s £49 million. At 20, he has room to improve, but he is no doubt a baller. Though he’s left- instead of right-footed, I believe he’ll play a similar role to the one Kingsley Coman fulfilled last year at Bayern Munich, another young winger who just so happened to blossom under Guardiola. Sané’s not as quick, but he’s cobra-like in his steady cuts between full and center backs, holding them in his thrall before suddenly and definitely striking.
With that deadly ability and Guardiola’s genius, the results are bound to be something impressive to behold.