SEVILLE, SPAIN – JUNE 27: Renato Sanches of Portugal battles for the ball with Thorgan Hazard of Belgium and Jan Vertonghen of Belgium during the UEFA Euro 2020 Championship Round of 16 match between Belgium and Portugal at Estadio La Cartuja on June 27, 2021 in Seville, Spain. (Photo by Vincent Van Doornick/Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images)
Renato Sanches could be the solution to Koeman’s midfield problem
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman still wants the club to make at least three more signings. The Dutchman is of the idea that they need another defender, midfielder and forward.
The priority, however, is a midfielder with the impending departure of Miralem Pjanić and the uncertainty surrounding Ilaix Moriba. The Catalan giants may have been provided with a solution.
According to Marca, Barcelona has been offered Lille midfielder Renato Sanches. He is being presented as an alternative should the swap deal with Atletico Madrid involving Antoine Griezmann and Saúl Ñíguez falls through.
The report states that agent Jorge Mendes could serve as the intermediary that would see Sanches arrive at the Camp Nou on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy.
Given Barcelona’s financial predicament, they would not be able to afford to pay a fee to Lille for the 23-year-old.
On paper, this sort of deal could work for the Catalans depending on the transfer fee wanted by Lille. Still, easier sad than done.
According to Mundo Deportivo, while Sanches is an interesting option, they don’t view his potential signing as a priority and is not a player they had considered as an option. Though they do admit that he was offered to them.
The Portuguese star had a very impressive Euro 2020 where he proved to be an impact sub early on in the tournament before finally breaking into the Portugal first team.
Sanches has resurrected his career, so to speak, after being seen as a promising player with Benfica before making a move to Bayern Munich. It did not work out as expected with the Bavarian giants and was eventually loaned out to Swansea City where things did not go much better.
He’s improved since joining Lille and is looking like the player he once was while at Benfica. It is no surprise that he’s become a potential target for a number of top European teams.
Barcelona lost out on Georginio Wijnaldum and Koeman wants a midfielder who can be more physical. Sanches ticks that box but he offers so much more. He can also be a playmaker with the ball and could be a good complement alongside Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong.
A deal looks very remote at the moment but there is still plenty of time left in the transfer window where anything can happen. Though in Barcelona’s case, they’ll need to offload a number of players before they can think of chasing after Sanches.
