Renato Sanches has been excluded from Lille’s squad to face Nice this weekend and it follows a report from Mundo Deportivo but the Reds will not be signing him.
Anfield Central covered the update from the Spanish outlet on Wednesday which claimed that Liverpool are the likeliest destination for Sanches this summer.
The Reds were supposedly in the clear to sign him due to Barcelona’s financial struggles which have been widely publicised this past year.
It’s seen them lose Lionel Messi to PSG.
PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 11: Lionel Messi poses with his jersey next to President Nasser Al Khelaifi after the press conference of Paris Saint-Germain at Parc des Princes on August 11, 2021 in Paris, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier – PSG/PSG via Getty Images)
Mundo Deportivo’s report from Wednesday claimed that Lille would let Sanches leave for €40million and he has been left out of their squad this weekend and the reason why has been revealed.
Get French Football News reports that the Portugal international is not in the squad to face Nice despite travelling and it’s sparked suggestions that it has to do with an exit from the Ligue 1 club.
Yet, it now appears that the Portuguese midfielder will undergo knee surgery and L’Equipe reports it’s to do with a meniscus injury.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi (L) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Dutch mifielider Georginio Wijnaldum pose during a presentation ceremony prior to the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Racing Club Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on August 14, 2021. (Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images)
As Anfield Central covered regarding Liverpool’s talks over Xherdan Shaqiri’s potential move to Lyon, the Reds are working on making new signings this summer but it depends on selling the Swiss forward.
That suggests Jurgen Klopp is planning on bringing in a non-UK player as there is nothing preventing him from signing an English player although there haven’t been many linked the last couple of months.
However, as Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain proved against Norwich City, if they can stay fit, the Reds have two very talented midfield options beyond Henderson, Fabinho and Thiago and then Klopp still has Curtis Jones, Milner and Harvey Elliott.
NORWICH, ENGLAND – AUGUST 14: (THE SUN OUT,THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Harvey Elliott of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Norwich City and Liverpool at Carrow Road on August 14, 2021 in Norwich, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Of course, Sanches will not be a player that Liverpool sign this summer if they do enter the market before the deadline on 31 August.
While there was always a chance that he was never a serious target and that it was always just paper talk, I can’t help but feel awful for Sanches as he has rotten luck with injuries.
If Liverpool were interested, it just shows that they have dodged a bullet and potentially avoided another Nabil Fekir situation.
