Manchester City winger Leroy Sane has been flattered by the comparisons to Manchester United ‘legend’ Ryan Giggs, but concedes he’s got some way to go to emulate the Welshman.
Sane has become a crucial part of Pep Guardiola’s City side, especially through his play on the wings. It’s not just his position that drew comparison though, but an overall similarity in their movement and style.
Five things to know about Leroy Sane…
- Leroy’s father Souleyman Sane was a Senegalese international, capped 55 times.
- His father played for SG Wattenscheid 09 early in his career and it was here that a young Leroy began his footballing life.
- Making his professional debut at 18 for Schalke 04, he made 57 appearances across all competitions scoring 13 times.
- Joining Manchester City in 2016 for a fee of around £37m plus add-ons, he became a permanent fixture in Guardiola’s side and won the 2017/18 PFA Young Player of the Year award.
- Sane’s impact has similarly been felt at international level and has won him 17 caps where he’s managed to score twice.
Giggs was an agile player with a lightness of touch and sharpness of pace that was capable of tying up the legs of the most capable defenders. The grace, guile and overall effortlessness of his movement can definitely be seen in the young German.
The Welshman was a one-club player and during his career at Old Trafford, he amassed several trophies and awards, amongst them 13 Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two Champions Leagues and inclusion on numerous Team of the Year lists.
A cornerstone of Sir Alex Ferguson’s world-beating United side, Giggs lined up alongside fellow Class of ’92 teammates David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and Gary and Phil Neville.
Although Giggs played in a more traditional winger’s role than Sane, both use their pace and knack for trickery to evade opponents and expose the spaces behind the defence.
Sane, just like Giggs was in these positions, is lethal when crossing the ball. Currently second in the Premier League’s assist table with nine, behind only Eden Hazard on 10, he’s also found the back of the net eight times. This puts him on his way to beat last season’s record of 10.
Although the similarities are greater than the differences, Sane is entirely aware of how far he has yet to go. The young German said, via Goal: “Comparing him to me – I can’t do it at all!
“If you see the kind of player he was, he’s a legend for Manchester United and the Premier League.
“How he played was special and how many titles he won, I’m not nearly there!
“Obviously, I’m pleased that people do it because it means I’m doing some things well and I’m really happy about it.”
Guardiola on Sane’s talent
Notable improvements have been made by the star year-on-year. If this trajectory continues, there’s no reason why the comparisons won’t carry more weight in the future.
Guardiola is certainly aware of his potential and also wary of the limits of someone at his age. As such, the manager seems to hold him to particularly high standards, seemingly spotting a future great in his ranks.
At the end of last year after an inspiring performance from Sane against Bournemouth, Guardiola said: “The challenge is there with De Bruyne coming back, I ask the best of all of them. We want to be competitive in all competitions, so there is no other option, and playing like that he deserves to play.
“He was incredible, created chances, was positive in mind. We never doubt him but he’s only 22 and up and down and that is normal.
“Maybe in the future, he will realise how important that he is and be like Fernandinho, David Silva, every week an eight or nine.”
Staying focused
⚽️ #LS19 #inSané @ManCity pic.twitter.com/i5uU5Xmaxf
— Leroy Sané (@LeroySane19) January 19, 2019
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