During his time at Bayern Munich, it was very clear that Julian Nagelsmann was a massive fan of attacker Leroy Sané.
Now, with his title of German national team head coach, Nagelsmann could be in a position where he has to do a lot of maneuvering to work one of his favorite player into the starting XI.
“When you see the current group, you have the feeling that it is working very well. But Leroy is also a great guy, I have a very good relationship with him. In the end, for him it’s about fitting in. He has outstandingly good quality,” Nagelsmann said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “A three-game ban is of course a lot. Nevertheless, he has a quality that we don’t want to miss out on. He has a very good character, but he needs to fit in. Then he will have the chance to show himself.”
When asked if it would be possible to play Musiala, Wirtz, and Sané together, Nagelsmann replied: “Of course, that’s possible.”
But how?
Would Sané bump Wirtz or Musiala out of the XI? That is doubtful. Would it be İlkay Gündoğan, the team captain? Again...doubtful. What about striker Kai Havertz? Maybe, but it seems unlikely that Germany would attempt to go strikerless at this point.
Nagelsmann could have some issues in trying to make all of that work, but because of Sané’s red card suspension, that will be a problem for another day.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis on Germany’s big match against the Netherlands and some thoughts on if — or how — Leroy Sané might eventually fit in? Then we’ve got you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show, which is available on Spotify or below: