Barcelona enter the race for 23-year-old Portuguese star piquing Liverpool’s interest

Barcelona to battle Liverpool for Portuguese star Renato Sanches

According to Diario AS (h/t The Daily Mail), Spanish giants Barcelona are set to battle Liverpool for the signing of Portuguese international midfielder Renato Sanches.

The 23-year-old was one of the highest rated young players in the world a few years ago. The Golden Boy winner in 2016, he was also a part of the Portuguese side that won the European Championship that year.

He joined Bayern Munich the same year and was a part of two title-winning sides in the Bundesliga. However, he did not evolve as expected and cut a dissapointing figure during his stint in Germany. A brief loan spell with Swansea City in the Premier League also did little to rekidle his fortunes.

A switch to LOSC Lille in 2019 laid the seeds for his resurgence. He played a key role in the French side’s 2020/21 campaign that saw them wrest the Ligue 1 title from Paris Saint-Germain. This has once again rekindled interest in him from some of Europe’s top sides.

Liverpool are one of those teams and are in the market for a midfielder to replace Georginio Wijnaldum. Sanches, at 23, is of the right age profile and has the potential to become a leading player on Merseyside. We will however have to contend with competition from Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona.

The Catalans are keen on the player but have to lower their financial commitments elsewhere to be able to afford him. Even a loan bid for the 23-year-old is not feasible unless they can lower their wage bill.

Money talks

Ronald Koeman is in the market for a dynamic midfielder and has placed Sanches on the top of his wishlist. Signing him permanently will set the Catalans back by around £30m, a rather reasonable value that is still beyond Barcelona’s reach.

According to the report, this could prompt them to make a loan offer with an option to buy. Whether that is an approach that will please Lille remains to be seen.

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Sanches is not the only player that both Liverpool and Barcelona are in for. Both teams are also vying for Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez. While Sanches is the cheaper option, Niguez is the more rounded player and is set to enter the prime of his career.

The Reds erred last summer when they failed to bring in a replacement for Dejan Lovren. A late surge saw us salvage the season but the lessons learned will have to be applied this time around. Wijnaldum was a key player in Klopp’s system and it is imperative that we ensure his void is filled.