We were very busy in the transfer market over the summer, signing goalkeeper Matija Sarkic (free transfer from Aston Villa), centre-back Toti Gomes (£900k from Estoril Praia), left-back Rayan Ait Nouri (loan from SCO Angers), left-back Marcal (£1.8m from Olympique Lyonnais), right-back Ki-Jana Hoever (£8.8m from Liverpool), right-back Nelson Semedo (£27m from Barcelona), forward Vitinha (loan from FC Porto) and centre-forward Fabio Silva (£36m from FC Porto) but one area we didn’t strengthen was in midfield.
According to Calciomercato, we’re trying to put that right by weighing up a move for Renato Sanches. The 23-year-old is believed to have ‘entered the crosshairs’ of Wolves, but it remains to be seen if we’ll make a move when the winter transfer window opens. It also remains to be whether LOSC Lille would consider selling Sanches little over a year after signing him. Nuno Espirito Santo only has Leander Dendonker, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho in the first-team, so we could do with another.
How good is Sanches?
The former Bayern Munich man struggled on loan at Swansea City in 2017/18 but has turned things around since joining Lille in 2019. Sanches has made 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring five goals with one assist.
In 27 Ligue 1 outings, he’s created 42 chances, completed 88.1% of 1391 passes, made 67/96 successful dribbles (70%), blocked 27 passes/shots/crosses, made 15 clearances and averaged a tackle (34) or interception (18) every 40 minutes.
How much could he cost?
Lille paid £18m to sign the 23-year-old and his market value with Transfermarkt hasn’t changed. CIES Football Observatory estimate his value is between €15m-€20m (£13.5m-£18m), but I can’t see him being sold for so little.
Sanches is a regular at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and has three years remaining on his contract, so Lille have no obligation to sell him for cheap. That being said, having Gestifute representing both parties could benefit us. Jorge Mendes would be very facilitating if Sanches wanted out of Lille, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Calciomercato said Wolves are interested in the Portuguese midfielder rather than the reverse, so I wouldn’t expect any movement yet.
In other news, how is Ruben Vinagre getting on at Olympiacos?
