Manchester City's German winger Leroy Sane has been truly fantastic this season under Pep Guardiola's management.

The 22-year-old has featured in 22 of the 24 Premier League games this season, scoring seven goals and racking up ten assists.

Sane bagged an unbelievable assist during Saturday's 3-1 win over Newcastle and earned some highly deserved praise for his Spanish manager.

“The game was 2-1 and open and Leroy decided ‘I go and make an amazing action’. It is complicated to attack 11 players when they defend so deep and they can hit you on the counter-attack. But we are learning how to do it.

“Leroy suffered in the first six months of last season but this season he is playing at a high, high level.

Man City splashed out £37m to sign Sane from Schalke in the summer of 2016 - but he struggled to make the desired impact in his debut season in England.

Sane names three players on Messi's level

Messi is considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all-time and Sane has named the three other players that "are on a level no one else can currently compete with."

"He [Guardiola] often shows me the skills of players he has trained in the past," said Sane in an exclusive interview with Welt. "For example, he asked me to have a detailed look at how Messi manages one-on-one-situations, and how he moves.”

Does he believe he is at that level yet?

“No, I'm still far from being on their level,” he said. “In the whole world, only a few players are: Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and Hazard are on a level no one else can currently compete with.

“The achievements of Özil and Cavani are incredible, too. I'm not that far yet. To be able to play with freedom, I mainly need fun. I don't think and I don't set specific goals for a game. I just let things happen. If I clear my mind, everything else just happens.”

It's interesting that he included Chelsea's Eden Hazard but didn't mention his Man City teammate Kevin De Bruyne, who has unquestionably set the league alight this season.

Pep Guardiola managed Messi for four years at Barcelona and gave his Belgian superstar incredibly high praise earlier this season.

“Kevin de Bruyne is the best player in Europe bar one,” Guardiola said at a press conference in October.

“I would like to help him all I can to help him get to the highest level possible.”