Sarpreet Singh (FC Hansa Rostock | Germany)

I went on the Nuremberg forums, they’re unhappy that he isn’t very creative and always looks to pass back rather than take a risk, slows down the game a lot along with being quite small and being taken off the ball.

It's sadly true, he needs to consistently make the creative plays if he is to even think about returning to Bayern. Playing safeball won't be good enough  Not sure why he's so hesitant these days, but I'm hopeful he will get more confident. 

Maybe he's doing what's being asked of him.

Last season was boyhood dream stuff. 

Signing for one of the biggest clubs in world football, training with some true super stars of the game daily, being an important part of a young BM II team who won Liga 3, and a very fringe player for the first team who won the treble. Dream start to his overseas career.

This 2nd German season a big contrast. Loaned out to another club, where he effectively has to start over and would be step down in facilities/resources etc, Covid, 2 sharkty weeks in NZ hotel quarantine, maybe a family bereavement, playing in Liga 2 a step up from Liga 3, and being a 'Bayern player' probably a bit of a target for some big bodied grizzled Liga 2 veterans. 

He likely will never play again for Bayern, but hopefully comes out of this tough 2nd season a better player.

I understood he'd done a lot of work on bulking up and getting stronger. Anyone know how that went? 

I watched most (if not all) of Nurnberg's pre-season and early season fixtures. I too was quite disappointed in Singh's performances because I know he is a quality player. I think Singh would agree that his performances have not been up to his level. 

It's been a run of poor form and I think Singh just needs a bit of confidence and he will be on the right track again. Even if it doesn't work out at Nurnberg, he is still very young and will have plenty of opportunities at other European clubs.

watched the game vs VFL Bochum and I must say I am disappointed with Singh. Everytkme he gets into a good position he would lose it or more annoyingly pass it back. I’m not sure if it’s a coaching instruction (I doubt it being a loanee from Bayern he is used to create and score goals otherwise they wouldn’t get him) or lack of confidence. Comments in the Nuremberg forums are also frustrated with him. This is turning into a nightmare loan for him it looks like. I fear he will go down the roads Melbourne City’s Daniel Arzani where a hot young talent fizzles in confidence and forms because of moving to the the wrong club in the wrong time.  I hope not, hope he finds some form and his creativity back, because in Europe, the pressure from opposition and fans especially can be relentless. Best of luck Mr Singh! 

My God, those fans are extremely critical of him. There appears to be a big hate train forming.  I hope he stays away from reading those comments. 

Performance wise I totally agree. He wasn't involved enough and devoid of ideas. Seems to wait for the ball to be passed to him rather than demand it. ?

So Singh got 67 mins away at top of the table Bochum.

Score was 1-1 when he came off, and the home team went on to win 3-1.

Nuremberg 12th, and seemingly a big form turn around required if want to push for promotion.

From last season, were there many changes in the Nurnberg squad apart from Singh?  

ironically they’ve strengthened their team. They signed Manuel Schafer who is a bit of a journeyman but a prolific one. Their best player is Rober Hack who moved Hoffenhaim while they got Jonathan Geis from Sevilla. 

They’ve struggled last few seasons and this season is no d

A This. 

From 13 mins in is the thoughts of a local German football expert/journo (15 years covering Nuremberg) on how Singh is going. Anyone criticising Singh from thousands of miles away should watch that segment at least.

In summary Liga 2 is a tough physical league, and that part of his game needs to improve, but is some signs that it is. Patience required, and as quickly as some fans are not happy now, in short time they could easily be adoring him, fickle beasts that they are.

no questions with regards fans and being fickle. At least he knows and I’m sure everyone involved wiry the club know what the next step is to get to that next level. I hope he will be loved by the fans in the future, if not this current fans, another group of fans somewhere in the world 

Nobody here's really criticising Singh - it's okay to be honest if a spell isn't working out and it'd be a little disingenuous to only cover the good and leave out the bad. Better to know than ignore. Just can't wait for him to regain his confidence. I  know that there's many teams who will properly utilise and appreciate his skillset out there

that beard though!

"He's a reflective player"

Hope to see a few goals and assists in the near future.

From what I've seen of him at Nurnberg, for some reason he doesn't seem to be playing with the confidence he had at the Nix. I agree with what the Nurnberg fans have been saying - he seems to play backwards, is not that creative at the moment, and has not really been taking on defenders. 

Footballers go through these spells of poor form, it's not unusual, and he is still very early in his career. I would just really like to see him regain that confidence and play with the confidence and creativity we saw at the Nix.

Not a criticism on my part, because I really rate Singh and know that he has the ability and potential, and I'm sure that he has what it takes to succeed at a high level. 

I saw there was a comment above about people criticising Singh.. To be extra clear, I'm really not criticising Singh. I really do believe he is one of the most exciting footballers to come out of NZ in recent years. All I'm saying is that I'd like to see him regain some of that confidence he had here at the Nix, and with that I know he has the ability to succeed. I still back him to succeed in Europe.

Subbed on at 73 mins in a 2-5 home loss to Hannover 96 (6th).

Score 1-4 when he came on.

Nuremberg 12th.

They can't scapegoat him for that now, can they?

On the bench as Nürnberg (12th) host Jahn Regensburg (13th)

Jahn Regensburg grab a 88th min goal, for a 1-0 win.

Singh watches from the pine. 

Nürnberg drop to 14th.

And back to Bayern. 1FCN didn't work out for him. I wonder what's next ...

Hmm, pity, whats likely next then, back to the reserves?

Just checked out the portfolio of his agent - surely they've got the connection to get his name out to a wide variety of clubs. Would like to see him have a go in Belgium/the Netherlands.

https://www.transfermarkt.com/stellar-football-ltd...

This season is clearly not working so well for him. It's all a bit strange, his NZ visit, loan deal canceled, coach said that he was not happy with his training performance.

2nd season blues, after a dream 1st season (winning trophies, training with football superstars). 

But Covid, a likely family bereavement, moving to a different German city and starting all over again, new team struggling in Liga 2 - tough time for him. Pro football in Europe can be brutal. Learning curve season, after Liga 3 probably being too easy for him.

Hopefully he can stick it out over there. I'm sure Bayern will have a plan, and won't just cut him totally adrift. But yes Belgium or Netherlands wouldn't be a bad idea. Some league a bit less physical than German Liga 2. A club that wants and needs him, so he gets back into a happy place. And Covid to be mostly gone from Europe later this year - the virus won't be helping mental health of anyone there right now, especially if you are thousands of miles away from close friends & family..

Fantastic news. Would love for him to become a key part of Bayern II and raise his stock in Germany again, with an eye to a loan move to a more appreciative and suitable club

funny how many people questioning the Cacace move to Belgium at first now realise it was probably the best move for him and encouraging Singh to do the same, if it’s a possibility. The German second division isn’t for young developing years, it will be interesting where he goes next.  

This. Would definitely suit his playing style a bit more. Would like to think there would be a few club's interested in taking him on loan from those leagues too.

Regularly playing first team football is the key to establishing a pro career - think Boyd in Portugal, Thomas at Zwolle; Tuiloma ended up finding it at Portland; Libby and Joe Bell have made solid starts.

Chris Wood established his career off the back of multiple loan moves. Would love to see Sarpreet Singhing in the Netherlands. Which Dutch club(s) have an established relationship with Bayern? 

Exactly this!

Young footballers need consistent game time to develop. For me Thomas did the right thing. Got into a stable setup with a good coach. Got 100+ pro games under his belt and then made the move up to a top of the League side. Now he really is in the shop window. If he continues to progress he might get picked up by a club from a bigger league. If not he still is going to have a good solid pro career.

I watched Libby’s interview about the Juventus rumor. He sounds like he has it figured out. He said playing in Serie A was a dream but at the moment, as a 20 year old, he needs lots of game time to develop his game.

I just hope Singh gets the right breaks. Right across Europe clubs are losing enormous amounts of money. There is talk of widespread cost cutting, even for the big clubs. Bayern might be happy to move Singh out.....hopefully to a solid club in Holland. That league would suit his game better IMO. Certainly better than getting monstered by blond giants in Germany div2.

Or further back Wynton to Switzerland and then Germany.

Singh's obviously going through some things, living away from home, covid etc. But he's a class act and I want him to get first team football not because of his development, but as a fan I enjoyed watching him play and I want to be able to continue doing it!

Been good watching Libby and Chris Wood playing recently. Wish I had better Eredivisie access to watch Ryan Thomas- but then didn't follow his career through the Nix, even though he's a kiwi lad.

I think everybody was happy for him playing in the 2nd team at the time. Bayern loved him so much that he was training with the 1st and had a few stints with the first team. This is not normal. We are talking about a Deutscher Meister, DFB Pokal and Champions League winning Superstar team. Playing regular in the 2nd league IS a logical step if you want to have break into that kind of first team. Seems not working out at the moment and that is OK. I’m glad they take him back and hopbuild him up again.

I just think he lost a lot of confidence and belief in his abilities. I watched him many times at Nurnberg and he didn't really have the confidence to take on the defence like he did so well with us here at the Nix. He too often turned backwards and played back/sideways, like the Nurnberg fans complained about.

He is the most dangerous when he picks the ball up in midfield and can run at the defence and play those beautiful through balls to the wingers/forwards.

I think a stint back in the 3rd division with Bayern 2 wouldn't be a bad move, just to get a bit of confidence back and start scoring a few goals like he did last season for the 2nd team.

I completely agree. Nothing's a tried-and-true formula that works for every single player; every German youngster goes down this route and many end up fine

From this week's Flying Kiwis.

Bild - Germany's version of The Sun reports Singh asked to leave Nuremberg

Bayern & Germany

@iMiaSanMia 30 Jan

The first signal to terminate his Nürnberg loan came from Sarpreet Singh himself. The player hardly had any ties to the team off the pitch & never really made it in Nürnberg. Singh has also struggled with the physicality of the second division & was relegated to the bench [Bild]

"As for Bayern Munich, they’re just churning away as always. Not quite as unstoppable as last season – particularly not when they were stunned in the DFB Pokal by second tier side Holstein Kiel with a 90th minute equaliser and then a defeat via penalties a couple weeks back – but they’re clear top of the league table at the halfway point and have a Champions League knockout tie against Lazio in a month’s time. Not to mention the Club World Cup in a fortnight. And Singh’s return happens to coincide with midfielders Javi Martinez and Leon Goretza both having to enter quarantine after positive covid tests. Corentin Tolisso is also out injured."

Obviously Singh wasn’t gonna play against Hoffenheim the day after this move was announced but that game does give us an insight into what he’s returning to. Joshua Kimmich and Marc Roca were the central midfielders there – Roca has been pretty poor this season but there wasn’t much other choice. That’s not really Singh’s position and they’re much better stocked in the attacking midfield roles where Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller & Kingsley Coman all started (and Douglas Costa, Leroy Sane & Eric Choupo-Moting came off the bench) but as options get stretched in one area it tends to open up opportunities in others too. Will be curious to see if he does get a go with the first team while they’re short of dudes of if he hangs out with the reserves to get minutes in his legs. He hasn’t been included in their squad for the Club World Cup if that’s any indication."

From this week's Flying Kiwis. He's back with BM II in Liga 3.

"Look who’s back. Sarpreet Singh named on the bench for Bayern Munich 2 as they hosted Uerdingen in their latest 3. Liga match. He got a decent little run too. BM2 fell behind midway through the first half as Mike Feigenspan put one away. They then made two subs at the half and another two twenty minutes into the second half, Sarpreet Singh a part of the latter duo, as they chased their way back into the contest. Which led to heaps of shots... but no goals, losing 1-0.

Quite a few other fellas in Singh’s situation left the Bayern reserves after last season so they haven’t been at that same standard in trying to defend their championship... they’re currently only four points off bottom, albeit with games in hand it’d be more reflective to say they’re in the mid-table mush. And Singh’s return from loan was not a planned thing so it’s unlikely there’s much room for him in the first team which means that chances are we see him playing at this tier for most of the rest of the season. Which is cool, it’s a level he excelled at a year ago and there’s clearly room for him to play regularly. He’s halfway through that three-year contract now so can’t be wasting time out on loan not hardly playing at all."

Gets 85 mins in a 3-2 win over Zwickau (11th) in Liga 3.

BM II go 12th.

Zwickau with 2 oggies.

Subbed at HT (score 0-0) in a 1-1 draw at Kaiserslautern (14th)

BM II (12th) with player sent off at 51 mins. Singh's sub with BM II's goal.

.