In a transfer saga that couldn’t be anymore dissimilar to that of another player for whom there is a moratorium about until it becomes official, Sarpreet Singh arrived at Bayern Munich without any of the hoopla and fanfare among the German fans or press.
Seemingly an afterthought, the 20-year-old dual citizen of India and New Zealand was only brought aboard after being noticed at the U-20 World Cup in Poland last spring. Singh commanded a fee of less than 1 million euros and seemed almost destined to fight for playing time on the reserve side, but that all could be changing.
His work ethic on the training pitch and his performances on the field both in the United States and in Munich have earned praise from head coach Niko Kovac saying that he was surprised at his development and that Bayern had made a “good catch.” Singh played a role in all five of Bayern’s preseason matches, but his strongest performance arguably came against Tottenham Hotspur. This performance is what prompted Kovac’s praise while also cryptically adding “Sadi was intended for the second team. I stress ‘was’.”
"He's a good catch. Without a doubt, he can get opportunities with us. I'm very happy with him and positively surprised."
— FC Bayern US (@FCBayernUS) August 2, 2019
️ #Kovač on @Sarpreetsingh88 pic.twitter.com/8CYm4r7GFb
The Bayern roster is still very much up in the air with potential transfers and the like, but the fact that Singh is impressing this early might change a few of those potential long-term plans. It is still unlikely that Singh will see any meaningful first team minutes this season, but this transfer saga just went from the files of the mildly interesting to potential hidden gem of a buy. One thing is for certain is that other teams should no longer overlook Oceania as a region to be mined for soccer talent.