Lille’s Renato Sanches impressed Karen Carney at Chelsea on Tuesday, but the BBC Radio 5 Live (22/02, 20:31) pundit felt the reported Arsenal transfer target could be more imposing.
Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic sealed Thomas Tuchel’s side a 2-0 win in their Champions League last 16 first-leg tie. The Blues finished as runners-up to Juventus in the group stage, while Lille had topped Group G despite their underwhelming Ligue 1 title defence attempt.
Sanches has been a regular but not integral part of Les Dogues’ league side with 11 starts over 15 appearances. But the 24-year-old has been key in Europe, having started all five outings after missing the Stade Pierre Mauroy natives’ opening two games through injury.
Jocelyn Gourvennec started Sanches at right-midfield for Lille’s trip to Chelsea, but Carney questioned the decision early on as it limited what Arsenal’s transfer target could attempt. Instead, she wanted to see the Portuguese play centrally to greater impose his presence.
“I would like to see Sanches playing more central for Lille,” Carney said. “He is on the right and you can see his technical ability. If he went a bit more narrow, he would have more joy and they could overload Chelsea in the midfield.”
Carney tells Arsenal how to get Lille star Sanches imposing himself in England
Sanches managed some dynamic runs on the right-flank in defeat to Chelsea and was often Lille’s best player. Almost every positive piece of play the Ligue 1 side made in west London flowed through the 32-cap star. He also almost forced an own goal from Antonio Rudiger.
Had Les Dogues’ other midfielders matched the Portuguese’s performance, they may have taken a better result back to France. Yet Carney has told Arsenal how they can get the most from Sanches in the Premier League next season with a successful summer transfer swoop.
Reports by Gazzetta dello Sport note Arsenal view Lille star Sanches as their top midfield transfer target for this summer. The Ligue 1 side would also be willing to part with him for €30m (£25m). But Calciomercato also claim AC Milan are increasingly confident of a deal.
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