Newcastle United have been linked with signing Renato Sanches once again, and he is a player that the Toon social media team know very well.
Sanches was a rumoured target for Newcastle last year, but joined PSG instead. However, his move to the French capital has not gone to plan, and there is now speculation that he could be sold this summer.
90min have reported that the 25-year-old is attracting interest from Premier League clubs, with Eddie Howe’s side one of the teams that admire the Portugal international. The report adds that Newcastle are being kept informed about Sanches’ situation, as are Liverpool, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Wolves.
A move to St James’ Park would see Sanches reunited with Sven Botman, who has previously called the midfielder ‘special‘. They played together at Lille where they won the Ligue 1 title.
Now there is speculation that they could play together again, with Sanches linked with a move to Newcastle. And that reminds us of the one and only time he has played against the Magpies…
Newcastle have history with Renato Sanches
Sanches shocked the footballing world with what he did in the summer of 2017. At the age of 20, he was one of the highest rated young players around after joining Bayern Munich in 2016.
One year after his arrival in Germany, he was sent to Wales. Sanches signed a one year loan deal with Swansea City, tasked with playing more regularly in a more physical league.
Shortly after moving to the Swans, Sanches made his Premier League debut. It was at the Liberty Stadium on September 10th 2017, and the visitors that day were Newcastle United.
Rafa Benitez’s side were not the headline act – all of the pre-match discussion was about Sanches and his talents. There was no interest in Newcastle boasting their own highly rated youngster who went by the name of Mikel Merino.
However, it was Merino who came out on top. He was sensational, helping the Magpies win 1-0. Meanwhile, Sanches endured a miserable debut, giving the ball away a whopping 14 times in the opening half an hour.
It was highly embarrassing for Sanches, who did not live up to the hype. And Newcastle were quick to mock him on social media after the game.
The club’s official Twitter account posted a picture of Merino and Sanches going at it, with the caption: “What an addition to the Premier League.”
It was a clear jibe at the Portuguese youngster, whose loan spell at Swansea has followed him round like a bad smell ever since.
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