Liverpool signing £17m Bayern Munich flop could spark midfield revolution

Some transfer stories are destined to recirculate every six months or so.

It’s always hard to know whether the interest from the potential buying club is genuine and sustained, with them biding their time to make their move, or if agents are trying to raise their player’s profile ahead of the next window.

As far back as 2015 Adama Traore was reportedly heading to Liverpool for a medical, and if he doesn’t make a permanent move to Barcelona he’ll likely be linked with the Reds once again.

And the situation appears to be similar for Lille’s Renato Sanches, who was heavily rumoured to be on his way to Anfield last summer.

As Sanches’ current contract expires in the summer of 2023, the next transfer window will represent Lille’s last chance to charge a decent fee for the 24-year-old.

He’s also the perfect age to move to Liverpool, at least based on their transfer activity in recent times.

While there have been exceptions such as Thiago Alcantara, the vast majority of signings have been between 23 and 25 years old, and Sanches will have just turned 25 when next season gets underway.

There’s also some evidence that he may now be ready to make the step up to one of Europe’s leading clubs, at least in one regard.

For the third season in a row, Sanches has created five clear-cut chances (those where you would expect the attacker to score) in Ligue 1, though of course 2021/22 is only a little past the half way point.

He has provided one of these golden opportunities every 187 minutes, a rate only Trent Alexander-Arnold (one every 148 minutes) and Mohamed Salah (162) from the Liverpool squad have bettered this season.

Sanches’ expected assists per 90 currently stands at 0.21 per 90 minutes, when it was 0.11 and 0.15 in the last