(Football news) After disappointing spells at Bayern Munich and a shocking loan spell at Swansea City, Renato Sanches has gone to Ligue 1 and revived his career at Lille FC. Renato Sanches joined the 2021 French Champions for £25 million from Munich in the January transfer window of 2019. He has now played 67 games for Lille, scoring six goals. However, the midfielder will enter the final 12 months of his current contract on July 1 as Lille are likely to cash in for him this summer as opposed to letting him go for free in 2023.

The 24-year-old midfielder played an integral role in Les Dogues’ Ligue 1 triumph last season. His performances for Lille also impressed Portugal manager Fernando Santos, who included him in the UEFA Euro 2020 squad and played all the matches in the tournament. The Rossoneri have been in contact with Sanches’ entourage since last January. The 24-year-old midfielder enjoyed a decent season this year with Les Dogues, scoring two goals in 25 appearances. However, it is not his goalscoring record that has caught the eye of the big clubs as he has impressed everyone with his tackling and dribbling skills, along with his passing ability. He averaged 1.4 key passes, 1.7 dribbles, and 0.8 tackles per 90 in Ligue 1 last season. Other than that, he has completed  85.1 percent of his passes in the league this season

Liverpool and Arsenal were also interested in signing Sanches but the Rossoneri are confident about completing the deal. He will likely be replacing the departing Franck Kessie who is set to join Barcelona on a free transfer. Renato Sanches will likely take up his position in the team alongside either Sandro Tonali or Bennacer. Sven Botsman is another Lille FC player that AC Milan wants to sign. The Dutch defender has been a main defensive target for Milan as he has been on the radar for several months. Botsman joined Lille FC from Ajax in 2020. Since then, he has played 63 Ligue games for Les Dogues, scoring three goals. However, the 22-year-old defender expressed his desire to leave the club.

Newcastle United were another club showing interest in signing him. The defender was close to joining the Magpies in January but the club are still in touch with his representatives over a potential move this summer transfer window. They are ready to counter Milan’s offer to sign the talented defender. Although the defensive pairing of Tomori and Kalulu have worked wonders, AC Milan need to sign a defender since their club captain Alessio Romagnoli is leaving the club and likely  joining Lazio on a free transfer. Botman fits the bill as a perfect replacement, being left footed and fast he can play with 3 defenders at the back, if Pioli decides to use a more pragmatic approach to games. 

Also read: Fikayo Tomori is set to sign a contract extension with AC Milan