Robin Dutt has made his name as a manager of Indian origin in German football over the past decade but not many of us might have heard of Sarpreet Singh, the New Zealand international of Indian roots currently making waves at Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Singh, who signed a three-year deal with Bayern Munich this past summer, has impressed for the club’s reserve side in the third-tier of German football this season, scoring 4 goals and laying on a further 6 assists in 15 league outings.
The 20-year-old’s blistering form for the reserve side has drawn admiring glances from first-team manager Hans-Dieter Flick, who handed Singh his Bundesliga debut for the senior team as a substitute in a 6-1 rout of Werder Bremen on December 14th.
As his stocks continue to rise high in Germany following his Bundesliga debut earlier in the month, let us take a closer look at Sarpreet Singh- his early life, career and style of play.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, to parents of Indian descent, Singh initially played for local club Onehunga Sports and represented Auckland at the Australian National Futsal Championships before joining the youth ranks of Wellington Pheonix back in 2015.
Having impressed across various age-group levels over two years, Singh eventually made his first-team debut in the A-League as a substitute in a 5-1 loss to Melbourne City in February 2017.
The 20-year-old signed his first professional contract with Wellington Pheonix in June 2017 and eventually established himself as a regular fixture in the club’s playing XI in the A-League after impressing with several substitute cameos off the bench.
Singh carried his rich vein of form into the 2018-19 season and carved out a reputation for himself as one of the best emerging prospects in the A-League, accumulating 5 goals and 8 assists in 26 appearances.
That was enough to earn him a spot in the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, a quadrangular tournament staged in Mumbai, India, featuring New Zealand, Kenya, Chinese Taipei and the hosts. Singh scored his first international goal in a 2-1 defeat against Kenya and also provided both assists as New Zealand beat India 2-1.
The 2019 FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland proved to be the ideal platform for Sarpreet Singh to showcase his talent and potential in front of a global audience. Despite New Zealand crashing out in the Round of 16, Singh did enough to warrant a move to Bayern Munich.
He hasn’t looked back since then and has gone from strength to strength following his move to the Bavarian giants. Singh has settled down well in Germany has his recent debut in the Bundesliga comes as a just reward for his impactful displays for the reserve side in the third-tier.
Standing at 5ft. 8 inches with a stocky frame, Singh is essentially a left-footed central attacking midfielder by trade, although he has largely featured in a deeper box-to-box role for Bayern’s reserve side this season. The 20-year-old is also capable of playing as an inverted winger down the right due to his left-footed nature.
Here is a compilation video from his stint at Wellington Pheonix depicting the various attributes in his game:-
The first goal in the video (1:00 min mark) lies testimony to his proficiency in driving at defenders, be it in from a No.10 role or a deeper box-to-box role. The effortless elegance with which he finds the bottom corner of the net from outside the box indicates that he could be a handful with his more accurate left foot.
Those claims are further substantiated by the next goal in the video (1:10min) where he single-handedly runs through the defence before find the back of the net with a neat left-footed finish.
Playmakers are often judged based on their awareness and eye for key passes and the next goal in the video (1:25 min) shows how Singh uses his intricate ball control to cut inside from the right-hand side of the pitch and drawing the defenders away, before setting up his teammate with a neat layoff.
Creativity and vision are other attributes that define a playmaker and Singh shows a perfect blend of both in the video (1:43 min) where he spots the run of his teammate behind the opposition’s defensive line and sets him up for a goal with a perfectly-weighted pass.
Creative midfielders often earn their money with dazzling moments of individual brilliance and Singh shows some mesmerizing dribbling skills (2:00 min) to create his own space in front of the goal. Watch on for a second or two beyond that and the youngster also shows ample presence of mind to release a teammate with a clever short pass after his dribbling heroics.
Besides that, Singh’s inch-perfect deliveries into the box (2:14 min) shows how he uses his left foot to create a clear scoring opportunity.
Hence, Sarpreet Singh seems to encapsulate all the necessary attributes of a dynamic creative midfielder and his rise in Germany continues to be a source of inspiration to all the aspiring footballers in India and the world.