AC Milan has made an official proposal to Lille for Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Italian giants have been monitoring Sanches for some time. As of now, there is no agreement with Lille and no agreement between Milan and Sanches on personal terms. There’s very limited time to get a deal done with the transfer deadline approaching.
AC Milan Make Bid for Lille’s Renato Sanches
The Player and the Fit
Sanches has had an interesting timeline in his career thus far. He starred for Benfica and the Portuguese national team. Then he made his big move to Bayern Munich. Sanches struggled for playing time with the German giants and later moved to France with Lille. He’s impressing at Lille, winning a Ligue 1 title as a starter. The Bayern move flopped, but it looks as if Sanches is ready for a big-time move once again.
The player’s fit at Milan, should a move materialize, is an interesting one. It all clings onto what happens with Franck Kessie, who’s been rumoured to depart.
If Kessie departs, then Sanches takes his place fighting for a spot in manager Stefano Pioli’s double-pivot. He would be looking for a spot in a battle with Sandro Tonali and Ismael Bennacer.
If Kessie stays and Sanches arrives, then the fit is even more questionable as Kessie is typically a de-facto starter for Milan. Kessie can also play the attacking midfield role, but Milan has Brahim Diaz there. Diaz is struggling right now, but that won’t last forever.
It’s hard to see Pioli switching formations as he’s been set with the 4-2-3-1 since taking over at Milan.
Either way, Milan’s strong relationship with Lille makes this move more realistic. Two of Milan’s primary stars – goalkeeper Mike Maignan and forward Rafael Leao, joined the Italian club from Lille.
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