Leroy Sané: Enjoying life and at his best for Bayern Munich
Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich appear to be hitting their stride this season, and Leroy Sané is at the heart of their recent progress, contributing some of the best form of his Allianz Arena career so far.
The Germany international's five goals after six matchdays is only bettered by four players in the league and he could have had even more, having seeing two efforts also strike the woodwork.
His partnership with Harry Kane has been essential to getting Bayern clicking in attack, with the pair striking up a fast friendship due to Sané's ability to communicate fluently in English.
It all reads well for Bayern and their coach, Thomas Tuchel, who set Sané the challenge to hit his straps at the start of the campaign.
Watch: Sané helps Bayern to comeback point at RB Leipzig
"It’s just up to him," Tuchel told journalists when asked if Sané can get even better this term. "Leroy has every opportunity, especially physically, to dominate the league and the opponents."
He's certainly beginning to assert his dominance on the division and Tuchel is clearly impressed to see the improvement.
"Leroy is in a very good mood," said the Bayern boss recently. "Good body language, very good mindset."
Club legend Uli Hoeneß agrees, saying: "When I look at Leroy Sané for weeks, my heart smiles."
Plenty of Bayern supporters will be nodding along in support, but things looked different for Sané going into the 2023/24 campaign.
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There is fierce competition on the wings in the shape of Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Co., while last term saw a fallout with Sadio Mané disrupt things for Sané.
But he has put all that behind him now and has been Bayern's most potent threat in attack this season, bar a certain England captain.
His red-hot form isn't going unnoticed in the dressing room, either.
"Leroy is one of the best wingers in the world and he is in very, very good form at the moment," Jamal Musiala told Sport1 after Sané's star role in the 4-3 UEFA Champions League victory over Manchester United. "I'm happy because he's one of my best friends. It's really fun to play and combine with him."
Joshua Kimmich added: "[Sané]'s always been a driving force. He's extremely physical. It's impressive to see how he's able to consistently deliver strong performances. It's a fitting reward for all the hard work he puts in. You can tell he's having fun out there, and it has an impact on the rest of us as well."
Watch: Thomas Müller praises Sané and Mathys Tel
Sané is clearly cutting the figure of a player enjoying their football and that can only be a positive for both Bayern and Germany ahead of important fixtures for club and country.
He has already spoken about how happy he is playing alongside Kane and working under Tuchel.
"For our style of play it’s important that we have a real No. 9. But Harry also drops deep so that we can rotate well," Sané said of his new partner-in-crime. "I love moving from attacking midfield up front with pace — it’s worked well with Harry a few times and with more games and training sessions it can definitely get better."
Of Tuchel, Sané added: "I'm sure that we're on the right track with him and that he's exactly the right person for Bayern. I talk to him a lot. He gives me a very good feeling and I feel a lot of trust."
Bayern fans will be hoping their attacking prowess continues for a long time to come. Opposition defenders not so much.
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