After his debut season at Bayern Munich, where he made two first-team appearances and spent most of the campaign with the club’s reserve side in Germany’s third tier, Sarpreet Singh is taking what he describes as the ‘next step’ in his career. On a season-long loan at second tier side FC Nurnberg, the Indian-origin New Zealand midfielder is hoping to build his case for a place in Bayern’s main squad.
“At Bayern, I was looked after very well. (But) I think it was important for me to get game time at a very high level. It was important not just to go anywhere but to a club that wants to play football the way I like,” Sarpreet, 21, said in a video interaction with Indian journalists on Wednesday.
“The second division is a very competitive league; anyone can beat anyone on any given day. It’s very physical and very intense. It’s important for us to do that as well but I think we have the quality to try and play football and we have a lot of good players.”
Nurnberg last played in the Bundesliga in 2018-19 and are hoping to return to the top-flight again. It is a club that can offer Sarpreet more minutes on the pitch than Bayern did last season in what was a treble-winning campaign for the Bavarians. And Sarpreet is keen on making the most of this opportunity.
“Bayern won everything last season, so everyone in the squad is arguably up there with the best in the world individually, and collectively they are (the best). For me, it was a great experience in my first year to learn from the best players,” Sarpreet said.
“But it was important for me to take the next step. It’s nice being there amongst all the players but if you’re going to get limited game time, it’s not something you want do. The coaches and everyone agreed that this was the right next step for me,” added the former Wellington Phoenix player.
“It was important that I don’t just go anywhere and that I remain under Bayern’s watch; you know, it’s literally one hour’s drive from here. So whenever they want to see me or talk to me, they can. I came here to play and be the best player that I can possibly be and improve areas of my game so that I can go back to Bayern being a better player. So that’s my task.”
Born in Auckland, New Zealand, to parents hailing from Punjab, Sarpreet moved to Bayern after impressing the club’s scouts while representing New Zealand at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He had also appeared for the country at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup, held in India. He has six international caps for New Zealand so far and was part of the team that visited India for the 2018 Intercontinental Cup, an invitational tournament held in Mumbai.
Describing his Indian roots, Sarpreet said, “Both my parents were born in Punjab. I have been there a couple of times when I was younger and I went a few years back for some football to India as well. We are like a typical Punjabi family. It’s been my lifestyle growing up. Even though I was raised in New Zealand, we still live like a Punjabi family.”
Source: HindustanTimes