Swansea City’s 1-0 loss in London earlier this week has left them reeling in the 19th place in the points table and Paul Clement is surely under pressure, to improve the quality of their performances, going into the busiest part of the season. The Swans have a decent squad at their disposal but a number of players have under-performed constantly this season and one such player struggling at the moment is Renato Sanches.
The Portuguese international made a name for himself playing for his national side before German giants Bayern Munich came calling last summer. However, he failed to establish himself in the first team last season and was loaned out, in a shocking move, to the Liberty Stadium this summer.
He is yet to pick up a goal or an assist this season and has been a part of the problem that club is facing at the moment but the manager today revealed that he has high hopes for the 20-year old.
Speaking the media recently, Clement revealed that Sanches will not be allowed to move back to the Allianz Arena in January and claimed that the Swansea hierarchy are in talks with the Bayern officials to make it happen.
“It is clear he is struggling. We have not seen him near his best, but we are working very hard to try and help him do that,” he said, speaking ahead of the game against Stoke City at the weekend.
Averaging 1 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game, Sanches has just 0.5 key passes per game and a passing accuracy of just 82.4% in the domestic league. He does make 2.1 successful dribbles per game but more often than not, his decision making in crucial moments has let him down.
The youngster adds great balance and creativity to the midfield for Swansea but Clement has not been able to stick with him for crunch games so far. However, in his first year in the country, he is definitely making an impact and should be given enough time to showcase his quality.
Bayern are not ready to give him first team game time yet and playing for two different clubs on loan in a single year can never be good for a youngster. So, in more ways than one, Sanches staying back at the Liberty is the right way to go.
He will only get better as the season progresses as he is a genuine match winner and a player the manager should definitely how faith in. Clements comments suggest that same so the Swans are sure to retain the midfielder beyond January. But do you think he can improve in the second half of the season?
