Watching a promising youngster stumble and fall from grace after a highly promising start to his career is not exactly a rare occurrence.
It’s exactly what happened to Renato Sanches, a dreadlocked Portuguese teenage sensation, who took the entire football world by storm last year when he worked wonders for his national team in a trophy-winning Euro 2016 campaign.
Leaving the host of Europe’s top clubs drooling at a prospect of grabbing, him the youngster decided to join Bayern Munich in a transfer believed to be worth somewhere around £30 million.
Renato Sanches’ Fall From Grace
Bayern Munich presented the Europe’s Golden Boy with a wide smile on their face believing they pulled a massive transfer coup after snapping the former Benfica starlet, whereas in truth they got themselves a fragile boy who failed to adapt to his new surroundings and got lost in the crowd at the Allianz Arena.
The 20-year-old finished the last season having made 17 Bundesliga appearances, only six of which were starts. With no goals on his tally after some 600 minutes on the pitch, Sanches largely failed to flaunt any of the attributes and qualities that recommended him for a big-money Bayern move.
When called upon by the manager who personally insisted on his arrival, Renato Sanches was a far cry from a technically gifted and infinitely skilled quick-footed frontman with a genuine eye for a pass and a pop at the goal for good measure as well. His form was poor and many were quick to mark his Bayern Munich as dead in the water already.
Instead of getting rid of a misfit, Bundesliga champions, however, have other ideas for a player who displayed a rampant form in Portugal’s Primeira Liga a year before. And there lies the biggest twist to the plot.
Despite the fact Bayern teenager has been constantly linked to the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Juventus, AC Milan and AS Monaco as sides described as fitting environments for a player of his quality and potential, Renato Sanches is ending up in Swansea City.
Yes, Swansea, you heard it right.
As the transfer officially goes through and while the most of you are still scratching your heads in surprise, let us illustrate the perfectly clear reasoning behind a deal ready to outshine Neymar and Ousmane Dembele as the kings of the transfer window.
Who in his clear mind, with all due respect to the Welsh side, would choose to join Swansea City over some of the continent’s most prominent and illustrious clubs?
The answer is Karl-Heinz Rummenige for once. And every other sane man, for that matter, who would take the befenit and progress and put it in front of commercial and financial gian. The Bayern Munich chairman has handpicked the Premier League outfit as an obvious choice for the Portuguese talent as Swans are the side that will, in his opinion, develop Sanches to progress and fulfil his potential.
Sanches will be arriving on a season-long loan deal. His progress at the Liberty Stadium will be monitored by former Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant manager Paul Clement and, most importantly, the 20-year-old Portuguese pearl will be given a chance to play at a high level on regular basis which he lacked at Bayern last season.
It’s all good news for the Swansea City fans who will get a proper gem for a year to feast their eyes upon. Now, the surprises for the Swans supporters do not stop there. And this particular one is a negative one.
Namely, Swansea are paying Bayern Munich a loan fee in excess of €8.5 million which would not so bad if the Swans had an option to buy the Portuguese at the end of the season – which they don’t.
‘Where’s the reasoning in that?’ – you’ll ask.
Bayern Munich are farming their boy out to learn and develop and it surely would have been them who were supposed to pay Swansea for taking care of their precious possession. Sadly, we all know those are not the principles football rests and works upon.
However, this particular ‘issue’ was a key point that marked them out of the group of other suitors. Swansea were happy to accept the no buy clause loan deal in return for a player that will effectively improve the team quality but also the club’s reputation and perhaps make it an even more desirable option for future arrivals.
Swansea turned out to be a risk-free option for Bayern Munich and a pressure-free platform for Sanches himself who will, without a grain of doubt, benefit from a move to England.
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