Liverpool reach agreement for Lille star Renato Sanches

Liverpool has reached an agreement with Renato Sanches.

The former Benfica wunderkind has been rebuilding his career in France, and away from such intense public scrutiny, is slowly getting back to his best.

Lille has given the Portugal international a platform to flourish and he’s rewarded the Ligue 1 side with some excellent performance.

Renato Sanches has been so good that reports from Italy are saying that Liverpool has reached an agreement with the French club for his signature.

According to Tutto Mercato Web, sporting director Michael Edwards has negotiated an £18 million package for the 23-year-old.

This price does come as a surprise, especially given his valuation on websites such as Transfermarkt. While Transfermarkt isn’t always completely reliable regarding player worth, they have hit the nail on the head with a few deals and the value they place is normally in the right ballpark.

Just days ago, there were reports that stated Sanches might cost up to £63 million – an incredible fee and surely not one that Liverpool would ever pay for the midfielder.

Despite topping the French top division, Lille is in financial problems and may be forced to sell some of their playing assets in order to raise money. This could have canny operators like Edwards on high alert – although knowledge of Lille’s problems is hardly a secret.

The French outfit has just been sold to an investment fund, although they still owe large sums of money to creditors. This could help explain why Sanches’s valuation seems to have dropped by more than half in the matter of a few days.

It’s hard to believe that the youngster is still only 23. He’s been on the radar of football scouts for ages, ever since his big move to Bayern Munich.

That one spell in the Premier League, with Swansea City, was a disaster and his reputation hasn’t really recovered since. Maybe Sanches could turn things around with an unexpected move to Liverpool.