The Manchester City squad has been plague with injuries especially in their defense this season. One of the defenders nursing an injury currently is Leroy Sane and he has been sidelined just for him to finally heal and be fit to play again.
Leroy Sane picked up a Cruciate Ligament Rupture in August 2019 and will be out till February 2020. So far, he has missed 33 matches and the numbers would crunch up in the coming days.
It has been a struggle for the team to cope without the German winger, along with two centre-backs- Aymeric Laporte and John Stones. Aymeric Laporte is out indefinitely but John Stone is expected to be back on the field any time soon.
It is only right for the club to start looking for replacements for these players as the role they play in the club has not been properly covered for, leading to loses that can be avoided.
Some news outlet reports that a replacement for Leroy Sane will be coming in when the transfer window resumes in January just as well as the deal might see Leroy Sane leave City.
There is heavy speculation linking him with a move to Bayern Munich. It’s believed the German champions are still very much interested in a summer move valued at well over £100m.
Should Sané decide to leave and a price can be agreed, City will not stand in his way and will turn to Oyarzabal as a replacement. The 22-year-old Spanish winger has a release clause of just under £70m.
Let’s take a quick look at how the two have performed so far and if City will be making the right choice with the deal should they decide to go through with it.
Playing on defense: Mikel Oyarzabal vs Leroy Sane
This season, Mikel Oyarzabal has played a total of 1105 minutes in 21 appearances across all competitions. He has an average of 1.4 tackles per game, 0.4 interceptions per game, 0.7 clearances and 0.1 blocks. (WhoScored)
For Leroy Sane, we clearly cannot use this season’s stat for him against Mikel Oyarzabal so we’ll look at his stats from last season. He has a total of 31 appearances, 24 tackles, 16 blocked shots, eight interceptions, six clearances, and one headed clearance. (Premier League Stat)
Playing on the attack
Mikel Oyarzabal has eight goals, four assists, an average of 2.1 shots per game, 1.2 key passes per game, 1.6 dribbles per game and 1.4 fouled per game.
Leroy Sane, on the other hand, scored ten goals in his 31 appearances last season with ten assists. This leaves him at an average of 0.32 goals per match, 847 passes, and 27.32 passes per match. He has a total of 98 crosses and 11 big chances created.
Also, he has a total of 56 shots and 24 shots on target with a shooting accuracy of 43%.
Strength and weakness
Mikel Oyarzabal doesn’t know how to hold on to the ball for long and this makes him dispossessed easily. Also, his passing and defensive contribution are weak while his strength is in his superb finishing.
Leroy Sane stays offside and doesn’t keep himself away from the line quickly which makes him less threatening against a technical side. Also, he makes unnecessary fouls on some occasions.
His strength is his ability to make quick crosses. He is able to find his man quickly and launch a ball that can be dangerous in the opponent’s box.
Conclusion
Both players are a brilliant addition to a team and with Leroy Sane being used to Manchester City’s style of play, it will be sad to see him leave or be permanently replaced but not totally if it is by a player who can do better than he does.
With Leroy Sane nursing injury, the club might have to get a replacement regardless and the time for that is even closer than we think.
