Lille midfielder Renato Sanches will be subject to a lot of interest from major European sides following a good season with the Ligue 1 outfit that saw the 23-year-old win the Ligue 1 title ahead of PSG.
The former Swansea City loanee also impressed throughout Euro 2020 when he played for Portugal averaging 1.3 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game across just 220 minutes on the pitch.
Liverpool are the bookmaker’s favourites to sign Sanches as Jurgen Klopp’s side are looking to replace Holland international midfielder Gini Wijnaldum who departed Anfield for PSG in the summer on a free transfer.
Sanches would be a direct swap for Wijnaldum as they are both very similar in terms of playstyle as they are both high pressing energetic players who can cover the pitch well and are good at ball recoveries, which is something that Klopp prides his team on with the Gengenpress system that they use.
The fact that the evergreen James Milner is currently 35-years-old and in the final year of his contract could also see Sanches be signed, otherwise, Liverpool may end up in a position where they would need two central midfielders at the start of next season.
Arsenal have also been linked with a move for the 23-year-old Portuguese midfielder, as they are looking to sign someone to partner with Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey who signed from Atletico Madrid last summer.
Following the news that Dani Ceballos’ loan deal is not going to be extended at the Emirates Stadium, as well as Granit Xhaka looking like he could be off to AS Roma to join Jose Mourinho, the signing of Sanches would make logical sense for the Gunners, as it would give them a solid defensive midfield pairing in front of their defence that can progress the ball well up the pitch, which could ultimately allow Arsenal to play a slightly more expansive style of football.
Sanches has also attracted interest from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, as Diego Simeone is looking to bolster the centre of his midfield in a bid to try and maintain his side’s standards from last season.
Many reports in Spain have linked club stalwart Saul with a possible move away from Atletico with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United rumoured to be looking at the Spaniard following his fall out with manager Simeone in a 0-0 draw with Getafe in March that saw him substituted.
Another factor for Atleti to be interested in Sanches could be the fact that Mexican midfielder Hector Herrera’s deal expires at the end of the 2021/22 season and having played just 978 minutes across all competitions last campaign, his time at the Wanda Metropolitano could be up.
Sanches is priced at 12/1 to join Atletico in the current transfer window.
The Lille man has also been linked with a return to German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich this summer, having only left the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2019 for €25m.
Bayern are rumoured to be on the lookout for central midfielders at present following the departure of Javi Martinez following his contract expiry this summer which saw the Spaniard sign on with Qatar SC, as well as the fact that Leon Goretzka’s future at Bayern is still in the air having not signed a new contract yet, with Manchester United rumoured to be looking at the German midfield star who has just 12 months remaining on his current deal.
Sanches would suit Julian Nagelsmann’s playstyle, as he uses an aggressive high pressing strategy, which is something which the 23-year-old would be effective at due to possessing a good amount of pace as well as being able to cover a lot of ground across the pitch.