Manchester United had been pursuing the Benfica midfielder, Renato Sanches ever since he broke into the Benfica first team in October. However, two days ago, Bayern Munich revealed the 18-year-old will move to Germany for an initial £27.5million with bonuses that could take the fee past the £40m mark.
Reports suggest that playing in a Champions League quarter-final at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich convinced him to sign a five-year deal with the club.
The Portuguese youngster began the campaign playing for Benfica B in the second tier of Portuguese football, but quickly got promoted to the first team in 2015 and now has 24 Primeira Liga appearances and six Champions League appearances to his name.
The move to Bayern Munich will be a huge step forward for the youngster.
Manchester United can still look for his alternatives to sign.
- Nabil Bentaleb
Current Team: Tottenham Hotspur
Position: Central Midfielder/Central Defensive Midfielder
Age: 21
Height: 6’1
Nationality: Algeria
Appearances in 2015/16: 11
Pass Success Percentage: 84%
Characteristics:
Strong Passing and Ball interception
Lacks concentration
Strong in aerial duels
Plays shorts passes
Nabil is a powerhouse at the center of the midfield and does his job of playing the ball forward and support his teammates in the back well. The Algerian has got his career rising with Pochettino’s trust in him. His style of play- strong and steady is what United needs at the defensive midfield position.
- Granit Xhaka
Current Team: Borussia M. Gladbach
Position: Midfielder
Age: 23
Height: 6’
Nationality: Switzerland
Appearances in 2015/16: 35
Goals: 3
Assists: 1
Pass Success Percentage: 84.7%
Avg. Aerials won per game: 3.3
Characteristics:
Fine passing
Strong at Aerial Duels
Not well disciplined
Likes to shoot from distance
Xhaka was once linked with Manchester United, but the talks never proceeded at that time. However, both Xhaka and United are in a look for some change and it can’t be a better time for the Swiss footballer to consider a move to Old Trafford.
Xhaka has shown some promising football over the past few years, but like many footballers, he didn’t have a chance to showcase himself at top level club football.
- Marco Verratti
Current Team: PSG
Position: Central Defensive Midfielder
Age: 23
Height: 5’4
Nationality: Italy
Appearances in 2015/16: 27
Assists: 4
Pass Success Percentage: 93.4%
Characteristics:
Fine passing
Dribbler
Weak at aerial duels
Not well disciplined
Likes to tackle
Marco Verratti has been almost a regular starting man for PSG. At 23 years of age, he is known to be one of the complete midfielders. Dribbling and through passes are the specia traits of the Italian footballer. Manchester United can consider Verratti in the transfer window, as he can be well suited for a fast-paced game in EPL. Being still young enough, he has a lot of time for improvement as well.
