Planet Swans ArchivesSanches elected for a loan move to Swansea where we have an option to buy him at the end of the season. We beat off interest from a host of Europe’s top clubs which included Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United with Paul Clement using his contacts to their absolute extreme.
And speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, he revealed exactly how the loan move came about with it starting very much with an almost tongue in cheek suggestion to German legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
“My initial call went into Karl Heinz Rummenigge, the Bayern CEO,” said Clement
“I kind of worded it as, if you don’t ask you don’t get.”
“At that point he said there was a massive amount of interest in Renato and they hadn’t decided on his future yet so I left it for a number of weeks,” he said.
“It was actually a couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with Carlo Ancelotti [Bayern’s Head Coach] on the phone and I asked him if he had any players and he mentioned Renato.
“It was at that point that the serious discussions started.
“It looked like it was difficult to do it and then it got nearer, then further away again.
“Obviously I was absolutely delighted when we got it over the line.
“If you look at all parties involved, Renato included as well as us and Bayern, there are lots of wins here,” Clement added.
“He’s a player that’s gone from Benfica to Bayern, two big clubs, with a lot of expectation and he hasn’t played any where near as much as he would have liked or the club would have liked.
“And the decision with him coming here was that he could possibly go to another big club but he could end up in the same situation where he’s playing 40%, 50% of the games.
“Bayern wanted him to play more regularly, I want him to play regularly and he wants to play regularly.
“He’s still a young player so we have to be careful we don’t put loads of pressure and expectation on him.
“At the same time, if anyone saw during Euro 2016 for Portugal you could see what kind of a talent he is, technical ability, his personality, his physical quality and he was good enough to play in that team that went on to win the Euros.
“I think it’s about rediscovering that confidence, continuing to develop and work with him in a tactical sense and I think he can have a big contribution and help this club a lot.”
