For most of Bayern Munich’s season thus far, Vincent Kompany has had a preference of playing a front four of Harry Kane, Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, and one of either Serge Gnabry or Kingsley Coman. Different injuries to different players have, of course, called for rotations to his starting lineups as well a fixture congestion across all three competitions.
For players like Leroy Sané, Thomas Müller, and Mathys Tel, they have become rather accustomed this season to coming off of the bench for Kompany, knowing full well that Olise’s arrival from Crystal Palace would threaten their prospects.
However, it does seem to most concerning for Leroy Sané, especially since he is a player that is coming up on a period where they will try to figure out a contract extension. His current contract with the club runs through June 2025, so he is approaching the final year of his contract. He has previously expressed openness to extending his deal with the Rekordmeister, but will conditions from his camp eventually involved how much playing time he gets under Kompany? Only time will tell the answer to that looming question, but there is also the question of if there will ever come a time where Sané starts to actually get more minutes and starting time this season under Kompany.
So far, Sané has clocked a total of 159 minutes for Bayern across all competitions this season, and he was working his way back to fitness following an injury that required surgery after his involvement with Germany at the Euros. From his 7 appearances between the Bundesliga and the Champions League, he has come on as a substitute in every single one, managing to score once in the Bundesliga (against VfL Bochum) and once in the Champions League (vs. Dinamo Zagreb).
The Numbers Don’t Lie
Ironically enough, Sané’s goal against Bochum in the recent 5-0 win was his 50th for the club and his 100th goal contribution since he joined from Manchester City. That brought his total tally in his time at Bayern thus far to 50 goals and 50 assists from a total of 182 appearances, meaning he is involved in a goal every 117 minutes (via @iMiaSanMia). On the surface, those numbers suggest that he is an attacking player that should be getting more minutes to yield higher percentages for goal returns, but Bayern has not had any troubles scoring goals this season with the attacking players Kompany already most often utilizes.
He is a player that can be rather streaky, especially when it comes to confidence, but he has had relatively decent returns in every season he has been with Bayern;
- 20/21: 10 goals and 12 assists from 44 appearances
- 21/22: 14 goals and 15 assists from 45 appearances
- 22/23: 14 goals and 10 assists from 44 appearances
- 23/24: 10 goals and 13 assists from 42 appearances
*This is what an in-form, fully firing Leroy Sané can produce:
Deep this Leroy Sané has 16 G/A in 15 league games. All while being the player with the most impressive underlying numbers on Europe. Magnificent pic.twitter.com/3RCmWpLFrP
— L.Prince (Parody) (@LeroyPrince77) January 7, 2024
It should also be noted that, like most other Bayern attackers bar Kane and Olise, Sané has been producing these numbers in different systems under different managers in Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann, and Thomas Tuchel previous to Kompany this season. There is a level of consistency there that none of the other wingers in Bayern’s ranks can currently say they’ve displayed, though Olise is certainly on the right track.
Contrary to the pair of goals he’s scored this season, too, most of Sané’s goal-streaks in previous seasons come when he is regularly starting, and the manager shows a continued level of faith in the winger. He has yet to have gotten that chance under Kompany, but there will certainly be more causes for rotations where the German can stake his claim in the starting lineups down the stretch. And perhaps giving Sané a chance sooner rather than later, maybe even on the opposite side of Olise with Musiala in between them, would be a wise decision from Kompany.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Bayern Munich’s 5-0 dismantling of VfL Bochum, plus some talk about why Max Eberl could be on his way to losing the fan base? Great, then we have you covered with our combination Bavarian Podcast Works Postgame Show / Flagship Show. You can get the show on Patreon, Spotify or below:
