Germany national team coach Julian Nagelsmann has strongly hinted that he will call up Galatasaray winger and Bayern Munich alum Leroy Sané to the national team.
Nagelsmann told kicker (as captured by @iMiaSanMia) that his rationale for calling Sané up is that, “We don’t have many players with his profile who often cut inside from the right wing.” He added, “If his health holds up, he can be a very important player for us. We have a great relationship, and Leroy has played some great games. He’s doing
well at Galatasaray.”
That last sentence may raise a few eyebrows, considering Sané currently has six goals and eight assists in 34 games. All six goals and four of those assists came in 21 Turkish Süper Lig games. It is not a bad turnout, but hardly a tally that would convince his many skeptics, especially in a World Cup. Nagelsmann himself admitted: “Let’s be honest — we never know 100% what he’ll ultimately bring to the pitch.” That said, Sané did have a pretty good outing in his most recent games for the national team against Luxembourg and Slovakia, scoring and assisting twice each.
National players who have a similar or better record to Sané this season include VfB Stuttgart’s Jamie Leweling (seven goals and six assists in 21 Bundesliga games) and Borussia Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier (eight goals and four assists in 23 Bundesliga games). Sané’s former Bayern teammate Serge Gnabry has six goals and six assists in 19 Bundesliga games, although he currently plays in a more central role.
