Leroy Sane

[zudomiriku]

Leroy Sane is a £40million target for Manchester United and Manchester City this summer... Sportsmail has asked a scouting ace to run the rule over the Schalke forward

* Scout Neil McGuinness has been credited with spotting Virgil van Dijk
* Leroy Sane has been lined up by the Manchester clubs for a summer move
* 'Exciting' is the main word that McGuinness would use to describe Sane
* McGuiness believes that Sane would work best at Manchester United

Rated at £40million, Leroy Sane is a target for Manchester United and rivals City this summer.

Talent spotter Neil McGuinness, a scout who has dedicated his career to travelling the world in the hunt for the next superstar, runs the rule over Schalke’s main man.

The ex-Celtic scout is renowned within the game and credited with identifying Virgil van Dijk as a defender ready for British football.



Sane, has been targeted by Manchester United and Manchester City for a £40m transfer this summer

Who is he?

Leroy Sane was born in Germany, son of former Senegal striker Souleyman Sane and Olympic medal-winning mother Regina Weber. He’s the prime financial jewel in the crown of Schalke alongside some others - Max Meyer, Leon Goretzka and Johannes Geis.

Where did he come from?

Sane started in the youth setup at the small German club called SG Wattenscheid before his ability was spotted by Schalke, who quickly brought him into their youth system. A short spell in the Leverkusen academy would follow, before again signing at Schalke where he would go on to excel. He started making waves before making his first team Bundesliga debut at 18.

I remember watching Sane in the UEFA Youth League and thinking he had the potential to rise faster than the majority of other players he shared the pitch with.

What type of player is he?

He is a winger at heart, usually operating from the right but he is also capable of playing anywhere across a front three, whether used as a support striker or No 10. He is ridiculously quick when he gets going and can cause constant headaches for full backs who are drawn into one-on-one situations with him.

It’s an obvious choice but exciting is the main word I would use to describe Sane. He can get the anticipation growing when he receives the ball and more often than not when he attacks at pace, he brings any stadium to its feet.

Those type of players are usually a luxury that only perform 25 per cent of the time but Sane shows maturity in his play and knows when to attack and when to protect the ball, something that is not always easy to find in the younger players.

Strengths/Weaknesses?

Sane is fast, very fast - rapid acceleration and maintained speed over distance. He shows good ball control and knows when to knock it ahead and run and when to keep it close and draw his marker in, showing smart feet to shift the ball, and his balance, before skipping away into space.

He likes to get into direct one-on-one situations regularly but he is also capable of drifting in from the touchline and looking to link play with smart one-twos or driving into more central space himself. He is more than just a winger though, he has intelligence on and off the ball and can also see a pass which is why he can provide teams with various positional options in the final third.

Sane is still developing, however, albeit at a very quick rate. Sometimes it looks that he is playing for himself in certain situations and while this may be something that he is probably being encouraged to do in terms of being told to ‘express himself’, it can have a negative impact on the team and perhaps giving the ball away too often.

At his age and being moulded into a key player, there is a lot still to come and a move at this stage of his career may be frowned upon by some. I feel it could be good for his development though - he will need to start again and strive to perform at a higher level.

Who does he suit?

He has no shortage of admirers which has been well documented. Realistically he can pick from a lot of top teams but for me, whoever takes him has to take him with the understanding that he is a player who likes to attack with freedom.

If he is joining a team with a system that places focus on protecting the ball and providing defensive cover, focused on retaining possession, he may not fit as well as a side that looks to play forward at pace.

When I first watched him in the UEFA Youth League, he was screaming out as an Arsenal-style player - quick, direct, always floating around the final third looking to do damage.

As he has developed and added some more positional maturity to his game, I think he has become more capable of fitting into a few systems. I think he would potentially be more suited to Manchester United than Manchester City but it all comes down to the manager of whatever team he joins getting him to understand his system.

Is he worth the money?

The figures being thrown around are always highly inflated but with the money in football today, £35-40 million would not surprise me. If you look at the prices paid for the likes of Anthony Martial and Kevin de Bruyne recently, there is no reason to think that Sane won't go for far off these figures.

Time will tell if he can live up to the price tag that he goes for and can maintain performance levels to match, but he has all the tools and potential to develop into an elite player.

How far can he go?

As it stands he has been announced in the provisional Germany Euro 2016 squad and I would think that he will make the final cut for the tournament. He can go very far, he has the attributes to play at a top club and national level and is the type of player that elite side and their supporters like to have on the pitch.

He has a very bright future ahead of him but time will tell which club that will be playing for, more than likely in England.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3600004/Leroy-Sane-40million-target-Manchester-United-Manchester-City-summer-Sportsmail-asked-scouting-ace-run-rule-Schalke-forward.html