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It took them longer than expected but Manchester City yesterday finally confirmed that Germany international Leroy Sane would be joining the Citizens from FC Schalke 04 on a five year deal which will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until at least 2021.
The German international becomes the clubs fifth signing of summer 2016 and will wear the No.19 shirt.
On signing for Manchester City, Leroy Sane said, “I feel really good, I’m happy to be here and happy that it has all worked out. Now I can settle here in Manchester and play for City.”
“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.”
Recognised as one of the continent’s brightest young talents, Sane is a fast and technically astute forward-thinking player who can line up on either wing, as a no.10 or as a false nine.
City boss Guardiola, said of the signing: “He is a special talent, and an exciting player that I think our supporters will enjoy watching.
“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. We are very happy he decided to join us.”
Sane’s meteoric rise to prominence began at Schalke’s “Nachwuchsleistungszentrum” academy where he enjoyed two spells on either side of a three-year stint at Bayer Leverkusen, leading to his professional bow against VfB Stuttgart on April 20, 2014. That was his sole appearance of the 2013/14 campaign but since, the Essen-born forward has made rapid progress year-on-year, featuring in more Bundesliga matches with each passing season.
2014/15 saw Sane visit City Football Academy for the first time with Schalke’s under-19 selection and he certainly caught the eye in a 1-1 draw with Patrick Vieira’s side in the UEFA Youth League. Although Schalke went on to lose the Round of 16 tie on penalties, Leroy was one of the standout players in an entertaining match and more high profile first-team opportunities were handed to him as a result.
Undoubtedly his milestone moment in his career so far came when he made his UEFA Champions League debut for Königsblau (royal blues) at the Santiago Bernabeu where Schalke gave Real Madrid a huge scare on March 10, 2015. Sane scored a brilliant winning goal in an incredible 4-3 victory on the night and, while it wasn’t quite enough to knock out the eventual winners on aggregate, Sane had written his name in lights at the home of the then-ten-time champions.
Last season was undoubtedly Sane’s breakthrough campaign, both in club and national team colours – in all, Leroy made 42 appearances for Schalke, scoring nine goals.
Born to former German rhythmic gymnast champion Regina Weber and former footballer and Senegalese international Souleymane Sané, the 20-year old possesses dual French and German citizenship and opted to represent world champions Germany, making his senior debut on November 13, 2015 – ironically against France.
Sane was called up by Joachim Low for this summer’s Euro 2016 tournament where he won his fourth cap in the semifinal defeat to France.
He joins Ilkay Gündogan, Nolito, Aleks Zinchenko and Aaron Mooy in arriving at the Etihad Stadium in the 2016 summer transfer window.
