Forget Saul - Liverpool should reignite interest in EURO 2020 ace

Forget Saul, Liverpool should move for Renato Sanches as he ticks all the boxes and his age means his injury record shouldn't be a massive concern.

While nothing is sealed in stone and Barcelona have a tricky deal on their hands, Liverpool might be best served to move on from Saul and to reignite their interest in Renato Sanches.

It's unclear exactly how much Lille will demand for the 23-year-old but given that he has just two years left on his contract, the €35m that Almeida touted seems a reasonable price point.

It's likely higher than that but I doubt it's close to €50m especially given his injury record which I actually think is blown out of proportion.

Georginio Wijnaldum was incredible for Liverpool and hardly missed a game and so it would make sense to sign someone with similar athleticism, that's not necessarily the case.

In Thiago Alcantara, Liverpool technically already signed their Wijnaldum replacement so signing Sanches isn't as much of a risk as you'd think.

While the opening fixtures might tell a different story because of international commitments this summer, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago are likely to form Liverpool's first-choice midfield three.

Unless a world-class no.8 like Saul is signed, that is unlikely to change.

At just 23, there is plenty of time to help Sanches fix his injury record and as Thiago has shown at 30, it's not impossible.

The Spaniard arrived at Liverpool with 14 different injuries since the start of the 2017/18 season which forced him to miss 223 days through injury.

He was written off before he joined the Reds and had he not contracted COVID or had his leg scythed by Richarlison, he would have missed zero games due to injury or illness last season.

Every player is different and we've seen Naby Keita struggle season after season with injuries so there are no guarantees but there is cause for concern.

That said, I've grown to love Renato Sanches and it would be great to see him return to the Premier League and rewrite his script.