I think people are harsh on him here. I never watched him live, just the videos, but to suggest he is average when he is just 18 and really made a name for himself this season is a bit over the top. And all the other alternatives, who says Ruben Neves or Thielemans want to move anyway? or to us? If we are after a young CM, then he is the best we can get. I dont see us going for a top CM anyway, they arent available or gettable, so why not go for a gettable talent instead. Dont think the price will be as high as mentioned in the media. The biggest drawback for me is that he is a Mendes client.
Renato Sanches
- Thread starter Sassy Colin
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He looks crap. 18 or 28, he just doesn't look like a player with much to build on.
Way too casual, without the technique to back it up.
His best skill appears to be making the pitch look bobbly, and under/over-hitting pretty much every pass he makes.
If that equates to calling everyone stupid, it's a good thing I have not asked you. Wow!
However, I do apologize if it will make it well with you. This is a Renato Sanchez not a @the hea v @dichinero
I've never seen him play, but if he is already capped for Portugal aged 18, and considered a regular for Benfica, he can't be anywhere near as bad as some on here are making out
If he comes, I'll be happy and be excited to see how good he really is for myself
If he comes, I'll be happy and be excited to see how good he really is for myself
dont be silly, of course it makes a difference. What do you expect technique wise? He isnt the next PirloI agreed with you that Neves was a good prospect but he hasn't been as influential as Sanches for his team. Benfica are top of the league and still in the CL, thats why I called Porto inferior.
As for Tielemans and Cook, if you don't think that the level of the opposition matters when assessing a players ability and potential I just have to agree to disagree with you.
2 years is a huge difference at this age, the age from 16-20 is probably the most important for any football player this is the age where the best are sorted out from the rest so I don't think it's fair to compare an 18 year old to a 20-21 year old.
I'm not sure if I have watched 10 games with him or less, I don't count but the 2 Zenit games are the once that really convinced me he could become a really special player in the future.
What makes a difference?
He looks really poor technically. Like one of those players who seems to have really poor ability to read the bounce of a football, has poor pass appreciation, dribbles loosely (leaving the ball behind one time and then overrunning it the next) He generally plays with the casual style of an autopilot technically gifted player, without being technically polished at all.
And this wouldn't be too bad if he were a winger. But he's supposedly a midfielder.
You build a game on technical ability.
You could see Robben's dribbling ability as a kid. He honed it.
You could see van Persie's tight control and shooting at 18. He honed it.
You could even see Nani's dribbling as a kid.
Go through any top player and the skills they became known for were in evidence from day one.
This guy shows nothing to build on at all. But maybe I'm just watching his very worst performance videos. I hope so.
This is exactly how he's been in the games I've watched, the fact he's powerfully built with natural athleticism covers up for the shortcomings in his game on the ball in a poor league. I think I mentioned before that he's like Bolasie where he is never in full control of his body and the ball at the same time when trying anything bar the simple stuff.
His physical attributes have understandably caught the eye, and if the fee was sensible for such a raw player I could see being interested, but £40M up front? ridiculous for what he is.
Definitely. Bolasie has the same gift of making every pitch look like a Sunday league one with bobbles everywhere. He also has the ability to make every bouncing ball look like a Rugby ball that's been grubber kicked.
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You do realise that other than Benfica, Sporting, Porto and maybe Braga, the rest of the teams in the league are not as competitive as the Championship teams. Lewis Cook would not look out of place in the league and I reckon he could out perform Sanchez. Tielemans is a far superior talent to Sanchez regardless of what you think of the league he plays in. He played in the CL as a 16 year old too you know.
Age should really give an indication of experience if physical development is not an issue. It would be ridiculous to compare a physically developed 18 year old Sanchez to an 18 year Oliver Torres for example. For Torres' size, there is no way he would have made it into the Athletico Madrid side at 18, but he is still a superior talent to Sanchez.
Oh behave.
I don't know about that, Tielemans has been rubbish this year, his performances have been way below what Sanches has been producing, Tielemans at any price is a really big risk. It's been reported too that he has an attitude problem.
I agree on that video, he looks very average.
Take a look at this one vs. Zenit. He seems more composed and dictates more the tempo.
He's not your typical stylish , technical Portuguese player, even less midfielder.
And then Januzaj? And where is he now. Pointless comparisons.
Fletcher and Schweinsteiger did not cost north of £30m at the age of 18.
I agree with your point but with the money involved, I think fans are right to be sceptical.
Think you're right about the money thing, let's hope he pays off like Martial. If he costed £5m I think we'd be relatively happy but the prices being quoted are very large.
What he is achieving at 18 years old is meaningless, the only thing that matters is what we think he can achieve at from 18 to 35, does he have the tools to be a top player, are these tools easy to unlock?.
That's actually exactly what it looked like the other day when I watched Portugal. I realized it, as I read this.
To be fair, the price of the average player has increased drastically so using like for like money comparisons isn't really effective.
When Schweinsteiger & Fletcher were 18, the average price for an 18 year old wonderkid was about £5-10m.
Plus Fletcher & Schweinsteiger were youth products that came through the ranks so wouldn't have "cost" as such.
He doesn't look very impressive in that video either. There's absolutely nothing there that suggests he's potentially a top player.
I actually thought he played pretty well for Portugal the other day. His athleticism is very impressive in fairness. You could tell he had the trust and respect of much more senior Portuguese players too. He looked a very limited player technically though.
Based on youtube, he reminds me of Anderson when he first arrived at United. He has that combination of speed and energy with the strength and center of gravity to hold opponents off the ball. Like Anderson, he behaves like a winger at times, even though he is really a central midfielder.
I'm not sure about his touch, but his ability to break up attacks and then move the ball to his teammates is impressive. He could do the defensive dirty work alongside a midfield partner who is then given the freedom to orchestrate.
I'm not sure about his touch, but his ability to break up attacks and then move the ball to his teammates is impressive. He could do the defensive dirty work alongside a midfield partner who is then given the freedom to orchestrate.
It's funny that people (not you in this case) use Martial as an example like he came out from nowhere. The fact that Monaco paid £5m for him as a 16 year old says a lot. He may not have been known on this shores but he was clearly talented.
I'm on the camp of don't want this lad.Looks like another player whose athleticism made him stand out at youth level.
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Journalists who cover Portugese football say he's been one of Benfica's best players since he made is debut. So it would mean he's also impressing at senior level.
After the Martial signing, I have full faith in the club's scouting department. If they see something special in Sanches and are comfortable paying a justifiable fee, then I'm onboard.
Nah rather let the ppl talk that have never seen the lad. If he was English ppl on here would wank themselves silly.
Mata with an early welcome hug.
Not likely, British players on here are criticized heavily, in fact one of the running lines is "If he was foreign you'd want him" whenever we are linked with a British player.
But he's standing put at senior level as well.
I don't know where I stand on the guy, I've seen matches where he has shown lots of promise and games where I wasn't sure if he was playing. Pretty much like any 18 year old.
Comparisons with Martial are interesting to me. Let's say we had a competitive attack and weren't reliant on Martial, he'd get less minutes and still impress but maybe not shine as brightly as he has due to less minutes.
I do not want to be in a position where we are as reliant on Sanches as we are on Martial so that means I want Sanches playing less minutes. However he's going to cost upwards of £30m. He'd get slated for not playing as often as a £30m player should. How does he deal with that criticism?
I don't think anybody is saying that he is bad, that would be silly. People are just stating that his performances does not justify his hype at all, even for an 18 year old. It is in the same vein as saying that Felipe Anderson is worth, say £80m. While Sanchez might improve, he is nowhere near the level of other CMs his age bracket. Even for 18 year olds, there is a certain level of performances that should warrant the hype as "the best young CM in the world" but he is honestly not showing it, at least not now. In the last 12 months I have watched a lot of U21 players performing at seriously impressive levels, individually, but Sanchez is not one of those based on what I have seen.
That's the type of reception I would expect for a superstar player. Curious to know why he's getting that kind of reception?
Bullshit. Is this darling Ruben Neves for example playing decently for Portugal? I really think people overestimate how impressive a young CM needs to be to prove he has talent. Hardest position on the pitch to play without experience for me.
Not sure about him but never seen him play so can't judge.
Renaaaato! And I wanna tomaaaato! And I want it fresh
Because I've just met this girl, she is hot and spicy...like a nik nak, padey wack!
Your point being?
I already watched that one, and I don't see what's good about it.
Seems like he's really just great at being athletic and having a bit of a gallop, which allows him to get to the ball that he often controls/dribbles loosely. Even the way he jumps for bouncing balls/headers is off-putting.
What's he actually good at doing with a football at his feet?
Because he's been incredible for the most supported team in Portugal this year.
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