Just when the element of surprise seemed to disappear from the transfer window, Swansea City burst into action. Renato Sanches, the unsettled 20-year-old Bayern Munich starlet, became a target for the Welsh club with few mocking their claims to be serious contenders for his signature.
The Daily Mirror reports that the Portuguese international is likely to leave the Allianz Arena on a season-long loan deal with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United all registering their interest.
However, Swans boss Paul Clement used his personal relationship with Carlo Ancelotti to bolster Swansea’s case and finds himself in pole position to land the youngster.
Having sold Gylfi Sigurdsson in a £45m deal to Everton, the Swans are keen to build on last season’s Premier League survival and move toward the upper half of the table. Bringing one of Europe’s hottest properties to the Liberty Stadium would be a staggering coup for Clement.
AC Milan are also interested, and as a club with a strong personal tie to Bayern’s head coach, can’t be ruled out. The bookmakers though, consider Swansea’s claims to be genuine and slashed their odds of signing Sanches to 2/1.
The Swans biggest obstacle is a lack of European football, not just for this season but most likely next. Sanches is likely to want some assurance of playing at the highest level on a regular basis and this may yet scupper the audacious bid.
