After multiple rumours linking Benfica’s Renato Sanches with a move to Manchester United, things seem to be finally moving along to get the youngster to ply his trade in the Premier League.
Benfica’s 18 year old starlet Renato Sanches was first linked with Manchester United in January, and has since attracted the attention of top clubs in Europe. His displays of skill have elevated a relatively unknown player into the limelight.
Sanches is a hard tackling and skillful box-to-box midfielder with all the makings of a future superstar. The Portuguese teenager is a Benfica youth academy product and broke into the first team in 2015. The Primeira Liga club instantly recognized his potential and tied him down to a new contract that would keep him at the club till 2021. But it also included a release clause of 60 million pounds.
It looks like Manchester United will land their man for a lesser price though. According to the Daily Mail, Benfica president Luis Filipe Vieira was in London on Thursday night to put the final touches on a 46 million pound transfer for the teenager. Negotiations between the two parties have been on since January, and it is believed that Manchester United are now very close to wrapping up the deal.
Manchester United favorites to land the best prospect out of Portugal since Ronaldo
Renato Sanches may primarily be a Manchester United target, but the Portuguese teenager has caught the eye of a number of top clubs in Europe after it became known that the Red Devils’ were interested in bringing him to the club. The likes of Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester City have all been linked with Sanches in the past couple of months, but it looks like Manchester United’s head start will help them beat off competition from their rivals.
The last big success Manchester United had when they raided Portugal for a young player was Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal hasn’t quite produced another player of that caliber since. But with all the hype surrounding Sanches, United could help history repeat itself once again.