Bayern Munich youngster Renato Sanches admits his frustration at a lack of playing time and says he doesn’t want to leave on another loan.
The 2018-19 season ended for Bayern Munich a week-and-a-half ago, and Bayern Munich have already begun preparations for next season. Though the biggest question marks reside over what additions the club makes to its squad this summer, Bayern’s chiefs also have to make some tough decisions regarding who will leave the club this off-season.
Yesterday, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge announced that his club would not activate their option to buy James Rodriguez from Real Madrid for €42 million. This morning they made the news even more concrete with an official announcement from the club that the Colombian would be returning to the Spanish capital (though likely not for long).
There remain still a few Bayern players whose future is not totally decided. Jerome Boateng has been advised by Uli Hoeness to begin looking for his next club, while serious question marks surround 21-year-old Renato Sanches.
The Portugal international has found playing time hard to come by this season, despite impressing on multiple occasions. While it’s still entirely possible the 2016 Golden Boy winner is still in Bavaria next season, many expect him to move on this summer.
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By the way the Bayern midfielder spoke in a recent interview with Sport Bild (via Yahoo! Sports), it seems he would prefer to move on.
"“I don’t want to go on loan again. If I leave, it will be leave completely. I want to play more. I don’t know if it makes sense to try again in Munich. I played too little, I’m disappointed.“All the young players like Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman play, it’s only me that doesn’t. I’ve shown in training that I’m a good player. I think I got the fewest chances of the young players.”"
Sanches is, of course, absolutely right in that he was wrongfully denied chances with the first team while other young players were given plenty of minutes. It’s an issue that has not only been present this past season but ever since he made the move to the Bavarian giants.
It will likely take some serious convincing to persuade Sanches to stay in Munich another season. With guys like Thiago, Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka all ahead of him in the pecking order, and Bayern interested in other midfielders like Kai Havertz and Rodri, it perhaps makes the most sense on a personal level for Sanches to seek playing time elsewhere.
That being said, it would be a shame to see a player with as much potential as the 21-year-old possesses leave the club under such circumstances, and it will not do Bayern any favors in convincing future young stars to join their club.