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What's the story?
Renato Sanches has been looking to leave Bayern Munich since the start of the summer as the player wants regular game time, which in all probability, he won't get by staying at Bayern.
The Daily Star is now reporting that Liverpool have dropped their interest in the youngster, giving hope to Chelsea to complete the move as soon as possible.
Apart from Chelsea and Liverpool, Swansea have also joined the race in last few hours as they look to snatch away the 20-year old right under their noses.
In case you didn't know...
The midfielder joined the German champions only last year from Benfica but has struggled to find a regular place in the starting XI.
Sanches didn’t play for Bayern on Saturday as it is believed that he had asked for some time off to think about offers.
Ligue 1 champions, Monaco have also shown interest in the player but have not made any concrete move to sign him.
The heart of the matter
With Liverpool out of the race, Chelsea should have an upper hand in getting the midfielder without any competition. However, Paul Clement's Swansea have now joined the race to sign the Portugal player as well.
Clement is hoping to use his contacts in Germany to secure the deal. Clement worked with Bayern’s Carlo Ancelotti at Bayern before moving to Wales and is hoping that this can help him engineer a stunning swoop.
The Blues have still not given up hope of signing the player before the transfer window slams shut tomorrow.
With news coming out that Oxlade-Chamberlain prefers a move to Liverpool over Chelsea, the Blues still need a player in the midfield position.
As reports suggest, Chelsea are leading the race to sign the Bayern midfielder but face competition from Swansea.
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Author's take
Chelsea signing the 20-year old would come as a welcome sign for the manager, the club and the fans. The Blues have not had a good summer transfer window and are looking to change things in the last couple of days.
Sanches can be a good addition to Antonio Conte's squad. The club needs to act fast and secure the deal before Swansea swoop in and sign him up.
The fans will not be happy if the club loses out on yet another target, that too to a much inferior club.
