Renato Sanches is surprised but excited about his unexpected return to the Premier League after his PSG contract was ended.
Chelsea recently showed interest in bringing Renato Sanches back to the Premier League, even after the transfer deadline, according to reports. Since September 1, Sanches has been a free agent after ending his contract with Paris Saint-Germain to look for a new team.
The 29-year-old Portuguese midfielder spent last season on loan at Panathinaikos in Greece, but when he returned to Luis Enrique’s squad, he was no longer needed. Foot Mercato says Chelsea, with manager Xabi Alonso personally reaching out, was one of the clubs interested in signing him.
After thinking it over, Alonso decided not to add Sanches to the current squad – at least for now. However, if Sanches remains without a club in January, Chelsea could still sign him because their 20-player Premier League squad can be updated without limits in the new year.
Alonso and Sanches were teammates at Bayern Munich, and back then, Renato was seen as one of the most promising young players in world football. Sanches had a tough time on loan at Swansea in the 2017/18 season but has since played for Lille, Roma, and Benfica.
Chelsea found themselves short of midfielders on deadline day after letting Enzo Fernandez move to Manchester City for a huge £125 million. They tried to sign Lamine Camara from AS Monaco to fill the gap, but that deal fell through because Monaco prioritized selling Folarin Balogun to Everton instead. So Camara stayed at Monaco until at least January.
Foot Mercato also reported that Chelsea contacted Georginio Wijnaldum, another free agent like Sanches, who left Al Ettifaq in June. The 36-year-old would bring experience, joining others like Danny Welbeck (35) and Jordan Henderson (36), who Chelsea signed this summer. But Wijnaldum looks close to joining Saudi club Al Ittihad on a one-year deal.
Even though Chelsea are a bit light in midfield, they still have some strong options. In their recent 2-1 loss to Arsenal, Alonso used a two-man midfield with Reece James and the fit-again Romeo Lavia. Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson are currently injured, but new summer signing Valentin Barco can play in midfield as well as left-back.
Caicedo missed the 3-2 win over Fulham due to a knock and had to be taken off after just 14 minutes as a substitute in the game against Brighton after feeling pain. Alonso said before the Arsenal match, “We talk about assessing the risk. Probably last week, we took him back too early, and I don’t want to make the same mistake again.”