Leroy Sane is establishing himself as a regular in the Schalke first team. - © © gettyimages / Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts
Leroy Sane is establishing himself as a regular in the Schalke first team. - © © gettyimages / Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts

Meet...Leroy Sane

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Cologne - One of the rising stars of the Bundesliga, Leroy Sane has been in fine form for FC Schalke 04 this season. The Royal Blues are hoping that the 19 year old will be the next superstar to emerge from their impressive youth set-up.

Chance in the first team

Born in 1996, Sane grew up just a stone's throw from the Lorheidestadion in Wattenscheid. His father was former Bundesliga star Soulemayne “Samy” Sane, who played, among others, for SC Freiburg 1. FC Nürnberg and made 55 appearances for the Senegal national team.

Young Leroy was practically predestined to pursue a career in football. After four years at local club SG Wattenscheid 09, Sane joined the youth set-up at Schalke at the age of just nine. After three years, he had a brief spell at Bayer 04 Leverkusen's academy.

Sane returned to Schalke in 2011, where he slowly began to prove himself as a budding star of the future. After a superb season under Norbert in 2013/14, the youngster found himself in the running for a spot in Schalke's first team.

When injuries hit Roberto Di Matteo's team in the spring of 2014, Sane was thrown head first into top level football. He made an immediate impression, putting in a glistening performance against VfB Stuttgart and scoring a memorable goal in Schalke's 4-3 away victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

His exploits earned him the first mini title of his career, as his colleagues voted him as “Bundesliga Newcomer of the Year 2014/15”. Considering Sane had made only a handful of appearances, the award was testament to the immediate impression he had made with his talent.

This season, Sane's progress has barely stopped for breath. New Schalke coach Andre Breitenreiter has put a lot of focus on the squad's young talent. Alongside the likes of Max Meyer, Sane has been at the heart of the new philosophy, and is fast developing into one of the best attacking midfielders in the Bundesliga.