Reported Wolverhampton Wanderers target Renato Sanches is an “extraordinary player” who has succeeded in rebuilding his glittering reputation at Lille, former Benfica coach Joao Tralhao has told RMC Sport.
Considering that Molineux is home to some of the greatest Iberian talents in the game, it always felt a matter of time before Wolves were linked with another pedigree talent from Jorge Mendes’ stable.
Sanches has endured his fair share of ups and downs since winning the European Championships alongside Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio in 2016.
But since joining Lille in a £23 million deal last summer, the one-time Swansea City loanee has put that miserable spell on the Bayern Munich bench behind him.
And after marking his renaissance with a stellar showing in Lille’s 3-0 Europa League win at a previously unbeaten AC Milan last week, Calciomercato reports Wolves have taken a keen interest.
“What happens to Renato does not surprise me. I was just wondering when (his rejuvenation) was going to happen,” says Tralhao, who watched in awe as Sanches rose through the ranks at Benfica before becoming the youngest player to win a European Championship winners’ medal at just 18.
“I’m also not surprised he has had some ups and downs in his career. In a few months, he went from the junior team of Benfica to the first team of Portugal (and became) European champion.
“A few weeks later he was at Bayern Munich, one of the most powerful teams in the world.
“Now he has found the confidence he needed within a structured, organised club. And I know the atmosphere he found in Lille was the one he needed to become himself again – an extraordinary player for whom I have a lot of affection and whom I have supported since he was nine years old.”
After just 18 months in France, is Sanches really ready to pack his bags again?
At 23, he has plenty of time on his side and, as he has already discovered in his roller-coaster career, the phrase ‘less speed, more haste’ tends to ring true in football.
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