Sane replaced August player of the month Sterling after an hour of Saturday’s Old Trafford victory, with the Germany international making an impactful debut after recovering from a hamstring strain.
The availability of that duo, along with Nolito and Jesus Navas, means boss Pep Guardiola has plenty of options for the Champions League Group C opener against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Sterling said: “It raises any players’ game when there’s four or five players who can play your position.
“You always want to be on the pitch, not in the stands. Leroy’s come in and he’s a really good guy who I speak to a lot but obviously he plays the same position - hopefully we can both be on the pitch at the same time but we have to work hard and show why we deserve to be involved.”
Sterling has been used on the right flank by boss Pep Guardiola so far but is versatile, and revealed his personal preference is the left side.
But wherever he is selected, Sterling was keen to stress just how good the mood is in the camp heading into the Euro opener.
“My favourite position is on the left but I’m happy to play anywhere across the front three,” the 21-year-old reflected. “The manager came in and told me he likes seeing me on the right and I’ve done that and luckily it’s worked well so far.
“Last year was a good experience for me to go so far in this competition. With the manager and the players we’ve got, the Premier League and the Champions League are two competitions we should be challenging for.”
He added: “I think with the players and manager we have and we’re getting better and stronger each week. We should be challenging for every competition we go in for.
“We haven’t been into training yet - we’ve got training in a minute and that’s when our preparation will begin for Borussia.
“Since day one the manager has tried to up the team spirit. Last year we were all close but now we’re closer than ever. It’s a really good atmosphere. He’s brought us really close together and that’s a real bonus for us - you could see the spirit in the last game.”
