PROFILE | Renato Sanches has the faith of Luis Campos and Christophe Galtier, there’s more to come in Paris

This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here.

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Arriving at Paris Saint-Germain carries expectations. You’re expected to hit the ground running and slot into an elite team without hesitation. For Renato Sanches, this has been a problem. There’s no doubting the 25-year-old’s talent, but availability has always been a hurdle due to persistent injuries. Asked to break into an elite eleven, Renato Sanches went into this season with a lot to prove – to outsiders and himself.

Sanches started the year with an inconsistent Lille team, who struggled for form following their Ligue 1 title in 2021. Three starts in the opening three games of 2022 before missing the next two games was indicative of Sanches’ career – just when a good run gets going, he’s taken out of the frame. However, ending the season strongly with five 90-minute performances in the last eight games, a move away from Les Douges looked likely. Serie A winners AC Milan were close to signing Sanches for most of the summer before his former Lille boss Christophe Galtier got in touch.

Once PSG and new coach Galtier registered their interest, there was only one likely outcome. Former Lille sporting director Luis Campos had also put his faith in Sanches, someone both he and Galtier trusted and understood. Sanches joined Paris Saint-Germain in August and, while he wouldn’t be an automatic starter like Marco Verratti and big-money signing Vitinha, there was a quiet optimism that Sanches could provide real quality in an area PSG have struggled with. Depth off the bench in the middle of the pitch was an area of concern heading into the summer and it appeared that Sanches would be key in that regard. However, it hasn’t exactly worked out like that.

Just two league starts and one goal so far isn’t what Sanches was hoping for but, looking at his start positively, it can only get better. He’s in a league he’s familiar with, playing under a coach who trusts him and believes in him. He may have been left out of Portugal’s World Cup squad but there’s more to come from Sanches in Paris.

Tom Scholes | GFFN