Paris Saint-Germain once again bolstered its midfield depth in the ongoing summer transfer window, as it signed Renato Sanches from Lille OSC.
PSG manager Christophe Galtier is very much familiar with Sanches, as he coached the Portuguese midfielder over his final three seasons as Lille OSC manager. Speaking during his pre-match press conference ahead of PSG’s upcoming Ligue 1 season opener against Clermont Foot, Galtier touched on just what Sanches will bring to the side’s midfield this season.
“He is a player with qualities that others do not have,” Galtier said. “If I compare him to Marco (Verratti), Viti (Vitinha) or Danilo (Pereira), he is a different player. He is very explosive and percussive, with impact. There was this opportunity on the market, to take a player who knew both the French championship and the very high level.
“We obviously seized this opportunity. Renato will now have to integrate because he arrived quite late. I think he didn’t play at all during the preparation, because he was waiting for a transfer, so he will be late. We will not take any risks with him. But Renato is a completely different player because of his explosiveness and his ability to break lines in the middle, as well as catching shots defensively.”
Sanches is coming off of a Ligue 1 campaign where he featured in 25 matches and recorded seven total goal contributions, including five assists. He also logged a 1.4 key passes per match average.
Sanches is slated to provide keen depth to PSG’s midfield in all competitions this season.
