As AC Milan continue to face the possibility of Franck Kessie leaving next summer, Renato Sanches has reportedly emerged as a possible replacement option.
The Rossoneri will see the Ivorian’s current contract expire at the end of the season, and as of yet, the two parties haven’t been able to reach an agreement to extend his stay.
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Time will tell if a compromise is eventually reached to ensure he remains a Milan player for the foreseeable future, but as with the cases of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Hakan Calhanoglu, the club will undoubtedly be working in the background to ensure that there is a Plan B in place.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Sanches has emerged as a potential transfer target as soon as January, while it’s suggested that he could cost around €35m to prise away from Lille.
Strengthened by early experiences, Sanches has big future ahead still
Still only 24 years of age, Sanches has experienced a lot in his career thus far.
He has collected league titles in Portugal, Germany and France, was a key figure in Portugal’s success at Euro 2016 and has 32 caps to his name for his country.
Admittedly, his time at Bayern in particular wasn’t always fruitful, neither was his experience on loan at Swansea in 2017.
Nevertheless, players arguably sometimes need to go through those type of experiences to become better for it, and it seems as though Sanches has done that as he continues to play an important role for Lille while we saw the best of him at international level again this past summer at the Euros.
Physically imposing, strong, tenacious, gritty and with technical quality and an ability to drive forward from midfield to offer a threat in attack too, Sanches ticks all the right boxes when you consider what we would have to replace if Kessie did indeed move on in the summer.
The Portuguese international is a player with potential yet to be tapped into as well, while he would easily slot in beside either Ismael Bennacer or Sandro Tonali to create a balanced and ideal midfield partnership in the heart of the Milan XI.
In turn, should the situation arise where the Rossoneri are searching for a Kessie replacement, pursuing Sanches to fill that potential void seems like a smart strategy, and perhaps moving for him as soon as January would be a clear indication in Kessie negotiations that we’re ready to move on if he isn’t willing to compromise and reach a fresh agreement.
Milan have proven to be astute in these scenarios with Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara working well to put the club first ahead of any individual player with their strategy for Donnarumma and Calhanoglu. Whether or not the same happens with Kessie remains to be seen, but they sound ready to act accordingly if necessary.