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Bayern Munich have finally signed Leroy Sane on a 5-year-deal from Manchester City. The transfer saga had been going on since last summer when it was widely known that Bayern Munich wanted to sign the player.
The two clubs were close to agreeing to a deal before Leroy Sane picked up an injury that ruled him out for a major part of the season. However, the injury did not deter the interest of Bayern Munich, and the German giants have been in close touch with Leroy Sane ever since.
With Sane changing his agents, the negotiations had to be started again. Bayern Munich finally agreed personal terms with the player and were eventually able to negotiate a transfer fee in the range of €50 million.
Leroy Sane is already familiar with Bayern Munich’s head coach Hansi Flick, having worked with him in the youth setups of the German nationa team. The duo notably have a good relationship, which is a bonus for Bayern Munich fans.
Coming to a club which has had the duo of Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben for almost a decade, Leroy Sane has got big shoes to fill in at his new club. On that note, here are three formations that Flick’s Bayern Munich can field next season to accomodate Leroy Sane in the starting XI:
Three playing formations Bayern Munich can employ to field Leroy Sane
#1. (3-4-3)
Hansi Flick has not been afraid to try out various formations during his stay at Bayern Munich. He’s already tried to deploy a 3-man CB backline a couple of times since his arrival in Bavaria.
With the fit-again Niklas Sule and new signing Tanguy Kouassi, Flick has more defensive options at his disposal. A back-line of David Alaba, Niklas Sule, Jerome Boateng, with Alphonso Davies and Benjamin Pavard as wing-backs, would offer Bayern a lot of cover on the defensive side.
A double pivot of Joshua Kimmich and Thiago Alcantara can dictate the tempo and link the attack with the defence. A front-3 of Leroy Sane, Robert Lewandowski and Kingsley Coman would look very penetrative, especially against teams that are not good at handling crosses and have low defensive blocks.
Leroy Sane can operate fabulously in tight spaces and can combine well with either of the full-backs or the midfielder to wreak havoc among opposition defenders.
#2. 4-3-3 (attacking)
This is a common formation that is employed by Hansi Flick where there’s an overload from midfield to counter the opposition press.
A regular back-4 in this formation consists of Alphonso Davies, David Alaba, Niklas Sule and Benjamin Pavard. The defensive midfield is occupied by Thiago Alcantara who has the versatility to be a deep-lying playmaker.
Joshua Kimmich can be the box-to-box midfielder, with Thomas Muller donning the role of an attacking midfielder. Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane occupy the wings and swap flanks in the match as per team requirements and tactics.
Robert Lewandowski is the target man in the box, but with his presently increased work rate on the field, he can move to the wings, and there can be a floating front-3 to confuse opponents.
This formation would give Bayern Munich a lot of depth in midfield without diminishing their attacking threat. The added numerical advantage in midfield will be beneficial both while moving up and dropping back.
#1. 4-2-3-1
This is the most common formation Bayern Munich have used under Hansi Flick. It allows the Bavarian giants to play their smooth-pressing attacking game, trying to capitalise on opposition mistakes.
In this formation, the back-4 consists of Davies, Alaba, Sule and Pavard. The midfield pivot of Thiago and Kimmich will be rotational, with one dropping to the defence while the other moves up. Davies being more agile, can play higher up the pitch, trying to support the attack as much as possible, with Pavard staying back.
Thomas Muller plays the role of a secondary striker of sorts, trying to find spaces for the likes of Sane, Gnabry and Lewandowski to pounce upon. Muller can stay on the right-hand side of the field trying to support the right-winger as Pavard stays back to defend.
This formation has been immensely successful for Flick, one he is likely to employ next season, despite personnel changes.
