Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac has insisted that talented midfielder Renato Sanches will be more than just the club’s “tour guide” when they face his former club Benfica this evening.
Kovac will take his side into their first Champions League game of the season with their aim, as always, to go out and win the competition for themselves.
Sanches – who moved to the current Bundesliga champions back in 2016 – has had a tough two years of football, struggling for form for both his parent club Bayern, and last season on-loan at Swansea City, where the Welsh side suffered relegation from the Premier League to the Championship.
This season will be a tough season for Sanches, who now has to go out and prove his worth in a highly talented Bayern squad.
Speaking to reporters (via Ojogo) ahead of tonight’s fixture in Portugal, Kovac has stressed that Sanches will have an opportunity to impress this evening against his former club and that his attendance isn’t just to guide the squad around the local area.
“I liked what I saw of Renato in the pre-season, he appeared changed, he adapted and he will have his opportunity here, I have many options for the midfield, it’s nothing personal against him … Next week he goes to Lisbon and is not to be our tour guide”.
Kovac had previously spoken in-depth about the progress of the talented playmaker, stressing how much Sanches has had to process in his professional and personal life to date.
“Renato was good throughout pre-season,” Kovac told reporters (via FourFourTwo). “He will certainly play at some time in the near future, possibly [Wednesday].
“He has made great strides, especially mentally and psychologically. He can play football, we know this.
“He has not had an easy period. He left his home, his family, went to Germany, a colder country, where people are different and it takes time for these players to integrate.
“You have to give the young players the time to integrate. I wish him and us good games. He was away with the national team, which gives an extra motivation. Now he is pleased that he is in his homeland.
“We know his qualities, he’s a young player who has the potential to evolve and who will certainly evolve and give his gifts to this club, where he will succeed.”
At just 21-years-old, Sanches still has plenty of time to improve on the form that earnt him a move to Bayern in the first place.
Following a successful breakout season with Benfica, he was part of the Portugal squad that went on to win the European Championships in 2016.
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