Leroy Sane is back on the field again but this time with a new club, Bayern Munich. The 24-year-old was dealt by Manchester City to Bayern Munich recently. He got a five-year deal worth $67 million and seemed pretty happy with his new team.
Sane was spotted in his first practice with Der FCB with a small group that included Niklas Sule. It was confirmed that he will be wearing the no. 10 shirt next season, the same one that Philippe Coutinho wore. Coutinho was playing on loan from Barcelona.
"It was a small group for training with Niklas Sule, but it was great to be out on the pitch again, completing my first session here on the training ground," Sane said. "I'm just overjoyed to be here."
Sane could have moved to the Bundesliga champions last summer but an injury prevented the deal from progressing. With the Sky Blues, Sane was only able to play 11 games. Now, he tries to work himself back to shape with most believing he has a lot of room for improvement. Former Bayern star Lukas Podolski believes that Sane has yet to reach his full potential.
"He has not yet reached the top level. He still needs a bit more experience, a few more seasons. He needs to play regularly with the national team and win a European Championship or a World Cup," Podolski said.
It will be interesting how Sane will perform with his new team. City preferred to keep him in the fold but the German football player seemed bend to bold the Sky Blues. Pep Guardiola tries his best to keep the 24-year-old midfielder in the fold. But aware that Sane already has his heart set of leaving, City opted not to stand in his way.
Much as he wanted Sane to stay, Guardiola only wanted to keep players who were committed to their cause. Sane was no longer aligned with the targets of the club and City opted to move forward.
As far as Sane is concerned, he may be far from playing his first official game with Bayern. He is not eligible to play against Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League round-of-16 clash in August. Pundits give Bayern a slight edge over the Blues since they won last time out in the first round. A lot has changed since then so Bayern may be in for another tough battle.
