Reported Wolverhampton Wanderers target Renato Sanches is a Champions League-quality player who shares similarities with World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi, Lille boss Christophe Galtier has told France Football, translated by Onze.
If the 2016 Golden Boy winner hit rock bottom during a loan spell at Swansea City, a return to British shores would show how far he has come since that miserable season in South Wales.
Now 23, Sanches has been a man reborn since leaving Bayern Munich for Lille in a £23 million deal last summer.
He has recaptured the form that made him the most exciting teenager on the continent four years ago, dazzling as Portugal won the European Championships.
A dominant display in a 3-0 Europa League win away at AC Milan earlier this month felt like a coming of age moment on the major stage for a man who’s making up for lost time after a couple of wasted years.
The one-time Benfica wonderkid has a long way to go before he matches the achievements of Matuidi, however. Galtier’s former St Etienne star went on to win 20 trophies at PSG and Juventus while tasting World Cup glory in 2018.
“(Sanches) is a player for the Champions League. Of all the players I have managed, only one impressed me in the same way – Blaise Matuidi,” Galtier explains.
“Renato is made for the big European clubs. He is someone who understands the game very well, who analyses his performances a lot and watches a lot of football.
“Renato can be even better when choosing the areas where to dribble and where to keep the ball, even if it is important not to take away his audacity.”
Last week, Calciomercato reported Wolves were looking to add Sanches to their sizeable stable of Jorge Mendes clients. The playmaker was potentially set to link up with international teammates Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Neves and Pedro Neto at Molineux.
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