Football: Sarpreet Singh close to scoring against Real Madrid

Rising Kiwi football star Sarpreet Singh came agonisingly close to scoring his first goal for Bayern Munich in the German giant's 3-1 win over Real Madrid yesterday.

The 20-year-old midfielder, who completed his transfer from the Wellington Phoenix to the world's fourth largest football club last month after a string of standout performances at the Under-20 World Cup in Poland, narrowly missed with his shot in the 76th minute of Bayern's pre-season clash with Real in Houston, following a deflected cross.

Singh was given his first taste of first-team action last week, playing 45 minutes off the bench against Arsenal in Los Angeles.

He has signed for the club's youth side Bayern Munich II on a three-year deal and will play in the third division of German football next season.

"The scouts found me at the World Cup and then watched some of my Phoenix games in my last couple of seasons in Wellington," Singh said after his transfer.

"They flew my family and I over to Germany to look at the facilities and see if I liked them and if this could be my new home for the next three years, at least."

Singh said he was humbled a club the size of Bayern were interested in him and had been impressed with the facilities at the campus where he will be staying for the next few months and where he hopes to pick up some German classes.

"They presented the plan for me when I got here. They see me developing here, and if I do well, there's always an opportunity to train with the first team. The second team trains at the same time right next to the first team, so if they need players, they can easily pull some in."

Although Singh's loss will be a major blow for the Phoenix in the A-League next season, the club earned a record fee for the young All Whites star, with the deal reportedly worth between $750,000 and $1 million.