Bayern Munich: Niko Kovac must give Renato Sanches a chance

It’s time Niko Kovac lives up to his preseason promise and gives Renato Sanches a serious chance to prove himself at Bayern Munich.

Niko Kovac is once again in the spotlight after Bayern Munich lost 3-1 to Liverpool earlier this week. The Croatian has been heavily criticized for his tactical approach — or lack thereof — he utilized against the Premier League giants.

Kovac has become accustomed to such criticism, however, in his first season at Bayern Munich. Things did not totally go according to plan in the first half of the season. Even though he steadied the Bavarian ship fairly admirably, Kovac was often lambasted for Bayern’s poor performances toward the end of 2018.

However, one of the most disappointing aspects of Kovac’s time in Munich so far has been his neglect of 21-year-old Renato Sanches.

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The 2016 Golden Boy winner remained at Bayern Munich over the summer at the request of coach Niko Kovac. The Portugal international could have easily gone on loan to another club, or Bayern could have sold him in an attempt to regain some of the €35 million they purchased him for in 2016.

No, instead they listened to Kovac, who emphasized to the club that they must be patient with the young midfielder and allow him his chance.

It initially seemed Kovac would make good of the promise he made to reignite Sanches’ career in Bavaria. The 21-year-old gave a masterclass performance against his former club, Benfica, in Bayern’s Champions League group stage and went on to be voted the club’s player of the month in September.

However, as Die Roten‘s season took a turn for the worse, so did Sanches’ opportunity at gaining playing time. Starts have become scarce for the versatile midfielder in recent months, and most of his appearances have come in the form of 10-20 minute cameos from the bench.

Renato Sanches’ lively 11 or so minutes of play against Liverpool on Wednesday were more than enough to show the youngster deserves more time on the pitch, however. He immediately added more drive, passion, determination and direction than his midfield predecessors after entering the fray. There was no fear holding him back from driving at the Liverpool defense — perhaps because he had nothing to lose — and Bayern were all the better for it.

Beyond an energetic appearance from the bench (not his first this year, mind you), there are other reasons Sanches needs more first team minutes.

Two-and-a-half seasons after joining Bayern Munich from Benfica, we’re still not entirely sure where the young man’s future lies. He simply hasn’t been given enough opportunity to convince he is or isn’t good enough to play for the reigning German champions. That won’t change, either, unless he is given more than 15 minutes of play every other weekend.

Bayern Munich are in for a big squad overhaul in the summer, as the club seeks to reinvigorate their squad built around a core of young players. It’s pivotal that we find out soon whether or not Sanches has what it takes to be part of that core. Is he nothing more than an overly expensive flop? Or does he truly have the potential to be a vital cog of the Bavarian machine for the better part of the next decade? The only way to find out is to give him the first team minutes necessary to make an honest evaluation.

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Sanches is still just 21, but he deserves the chance to prove himself with this Bayern squad. If the promising, albeit brief, displays he has given in recent games aren’t enough, then the necessity of determining what he can bring to the club for the future should be plenty reason for Niko Kovac to make good on his promise and give Renato Sanches the playing time he needs to prove his worth to Bayern Munich.