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What's the story?
Chelsea and Manchester United are still reported to be in the market for a central midfield option and may have been given an opening after AC Milan stalled in their transfer talks with Bayern Munich over Portuguese sensation Renato Sanches as per reports in the Metro
This despite Carlo Ancelotti having come out in defense of his player - ‘" There is nothing new with Renato Sanches," the Bayern boss said recently. "He has started the season with us, and he’ll stay with us until the end of the transfer market, on August 31st. He played well in our last match"
In case you didn't know
Sanches, of course, famously rejected United to join Munich for £31million (plus add-ons) from Benfica, aged just 18, and was one of the most talked about young talents last summer.
This time though there's no such fuss as he has not had the best of times over the past season playing just 615 minutes (over 17 apps) in the Bundesliga and 201 minutes (over 6 apps) in the UEFA Champions League and not even getting a run out in the DFB-Pokal, playing just 87 minutes (over 2 matches) - and getting 0 goals and 0 assists over the period.
This confidence sapping period was compounded by him being demoted to the U-21 Portugal squad for the U-21 European Championships this summer instead of the senior squad that played in the FIFA Confederations Cup.
The heart of the matter
The move to Milan has apparently fallen through due to the Rossoneri's disinclination to go for a permanent move for the all-action Portuguese midfielder, while Die Roten are looking to either sell or loan out with an agreed future sell-on clause.
This is what has reportedly opened up a window for the English clubs, who may opt to take a punt on a man who is one of Europe's most promising talents.
Video
The boy can play, let me tell you:
Not too shabby, neh?
Author's take
Manchester United seem to be focusing on the wings rather than the middle of the park after their capture of Nemanja Matic from Chelsea recently - as the Serb showed in the UEFA Super Cup, he is a superb addition to the squad.
Chelsea, meanwhile, may be more interested... Antonio Conte doesn't seem too pleased with the summer's business and he definitely didn't seem to pleased with the Matic business and Sanches could add a spark to the defending champion's midfield.
