Sane’s not the new Giggs yet says boss Pep
PEP GUARDIOLA has set Leroy Sane the daunting target of becoming the next Ryan Giggs.
Sane has been likened to the Manchester United legend because of his pace, skill and magic left foot – qualities that played a big part in Manchester City’s runaway Premier League title triumph and Sane’s Young Player of the Year award last weekend.
But Guardiola has told the 22-year-old German winger he cannot be a one-season wonder.
“It’s too early to compare,” he said. “They are both left wingers, very quick and it’s not easy for full-backs to face them. But Ryan is a legend in world football, not just in Manchester United, England and Wales. Leroy has a good target to try to emulate Ryan.
“The most important thing for Leroy is consistency during the games. Some guys can play good for a short period but he’s been excellent over a long period. His consistency was the most valuable thing. His quality speaks for itself.”
Guardiola paid tribute to Spain legend Andres Iniesta as he said ‘goodbye’ to Barcelona to wind down his career in China.
“He is an example of how to be a professional on and off the pitch. Barcelona’s success over the past 15 years would not have been possible without him. He helped me to understand the game better.
“Hopefully one day he can go back to Barcelona and teach the young players or even the professional players what he showed on the pitch.”
City go to West Ham tomorrow looking for the two goals that will earn them the distinction of becoming only the second team to score a century of goals in a Premier League season. And with four games left they are on course to beat Chelsea’s record of 103 set in 2009-10.
Hammers manager David Moyes has locked horns with a few great teams in his 20 years as a manager. He admits his pre-match preparations have meant his players have caught only the odd glimpse of a practice ball.
“We train them without the ball a lot because at West Ham we’re not with the ball all the time,” said Moyes.
“For anybody to think that we are going to have that would be naive. We’ll do our best to make it as hard as we can for them.”
The visit of City means on-loan Joe Hart, whose England place is under threat, will sit it out against his parent club.
Spanish goalkeeper Adrian deputised so impressively in the reverse fixture, a narrow 2-1 defeat in December, that Hart did not reclaim his spot until last month.
And Moyes has challenged Adrian to oust Hart until the end of the season.
He said: “I hope Adrian plays so well against Manchester City that he is available for the next one, that’s the plan.” SANE: Early days Premier League top 10. Leicester chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha intends to build a new training ground and extend the King Power and Puel wants to build a team to match the club’s ambition.
But as the third man in the Foxes hot seat in eight months, he claims success will not be achieved by hiring and firing managers. “We have seen a lot of clubs in difficulties this