Renato Sanches is unsure about his future at Bayern Munich
Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches is enjoying life at Bayern Munich, but he wants more minutes than what he is getting right now.
Renato Sanches has endured three whirlwind years since signing for Bayern Munich in 2016. The former Golden Boy winner was tipped to be the next big midfield talent in Europe when the Bavarians swooped him up from Benfica for €35 million. However, this transfer has not yet lived up to the hype it generated at that time.
Sanches has enjoyed a mini-resurgence with the German champions this season. Niko Kovac has placed a lot of faith in the 21-year-old midfielder’s talent. Speaking to Sport1, Sanches admitted that he is finally feeling settled at Bayern. He insisted, though, that he still needs more playing time than what he is getting right now.
"“I’m happy, but of course, I want to play more. I just want the best for myself and if it’s best to stay, then I’ll stay. If it’s best for me to leave, then I’ll go.“The coach does his job, of course, if I play well, he can be happy with me, and if I’m not playing well, it’s different. But the coach is happy with me because I’m ready and playing well right now.”"
More from Bayern Strikes
- Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaways from 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman set to be fit for Manchester United clash
- Bayern Munich unlikely to move for Trevoh Chalobah in January
- Bayern Munich: Key lessons from draw against Bayer Leverkusen
- Bayern Munich remains keen on hiring Max Eberl
Things looked pretty bleak for Sanches in the summer after he returned from his year-long loan spell at Swansea City. He was heavily linked with a return to Benfica on a temporary basis. However, Kovac had other plans for the dynamic midfielder. The Croatian recognized Sanches’ talent and accepted the challenge of keeping him in his Bayern squad.
Sanches has spent a decent number of minutes on the pitch since the start of the season. He has made 16 appearances across all competitions, but the majority of those have come from the bench.
The Portuguese midfielder has scored one goal and created two more in these appearances. While his performance level has certainly gone up, he is not quite back to the level he was in 2016.
Bayern Munich are rebuilding their aging squad and continue to monitor young players across Europe. Sanches has not yet shown his best in Germany, but the club needs to remain patient with him. Niko Kovac has managed him pretty well so far, but Sanches will need to truly integrate into the starting lineup for his transfer to really be considered a success.
Next. Bayern Munich take concrete steps to sign Adrien Rabiot. dark
Kovac is under pressure to get positive results right now, so expect him to stick with a fixed starting XI in the Bundesliga. Sanches needs to make the most of his time on the pitch if he hopes to keep getting minutes. The competition will increase with new arrivals next season, but a string of strong performances in the next six months will secure Sanches’ future in Bavaria.