Bony deal goes to wire... but Sanches seals move
SWANSEA City pulled off the coup of the transfer window – but went to the wire as they attempted to replace Tottenham-bound Fernando Llorente with a sensational return for Wilfried Bony.
And there was similar late work going on at Cardiff City Stadium, with Neil Warnock keen to add to his midfield options – including a late bid to land Wales star Joe Ledley.
The Swans confirmed the loan arrival of 20-year-old Bayern Munich superstar Renato Sanches on deadline day, a move that shocked the Premier League as the Liberty club saw off interest from the likes of Paris SaintGermain and AC Milan to secure the midfielder.
But, despite agreeing a deal with Manchester City for former striker Bony for around £12m, fans were left to sweat as the summer business entered its 11th hour.
Bony’s arrival came after weeks of talks with Clement keen on adding the Ivory Coast ace to his attacking options.
But Clement looked set to have to make do without last season’s top scorer Llorente after the club accepted a fee of around £15m for last season’s top scorer.
Llorente, 32 and in the final year of his contract, had been expected to join Chelsea after the champions made enquiries throughout the summer but failed to gain an agreement over a price with Swansea.
And Spurs moved early in the day to beat their London rivals to the punch, Llorente waiting for the Bony deal to be made official before seeing his switch to Wembley completed.
Clement had been keen to land Bony, with the player also eager to return to the club where he enjoyed huge success before making a thenrecord £28m move to Man City in January 2015.
The Swans boss believes the striker can rediscover his form in south Wales following a disappointing time at the Etihad, including a loan spell at Stoke last season.
Bony, for his part, is believed to have been ready to accept a substantial pay cut to make the move happen.
Still, it was Sanches who caught the imagination, with Clement getting the dynamic and attacking midfielder he wanted following the loss of Gylfi Sigurdsson earlier in the window.
Yet there was no move for Nacer Chadli, with West Brom refusing to budge from a £28m valuation and Swansea content with their options.
Likewise, Swansea went cool on a move for PSV wingback Santiago Arias, while nothing came of interest in Barnsley full-back Andy Yiadom.
Championship leaders Cardiff were believed to be in talks with Derby’s Craig Bryson and Blackburn’s Liam Feeney as the deadline approached, with interest also lodged in Ledley.
A deal for the 30-year-old former academy product could still be completed after the end of the window with the Euro 2016 hero a free agent following his release from Crystal Palace.
IT is the transfer that has the whole football world talking and must rank as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, transfer coup Swansea City have pulled off in their 105-year history.
Bayern Munich’s Renato Sanchez, the reigning European young footballer of the year, will spend the rest of the season at the Liberty Stadium as head coach Paul Clement used his contacts at the Bavarian giants to bring in the Portuguese international.
There was widespread surprise when the Western Mail revealed Swansea were genuine contenders for Sanches, but they have managed to complete a sensational swoop.
But how was the deal sealed? Who did Swansea beat to his signature? And when did they start planning the move? Here, we explain. A long-term target The initial seeds of a move for Sanches were sown a considerable amount of time ago. Swansea were among a number of clubs scouting him as he emerged as a potential future star at Benfica, with the Welsh club monitoring him in January 2016.
But such were his performances for the Portuguese club and the national team that several of Europe’s heavyweights moved in for him, with Bayern landing the then-teenager for a fee of around 35million Euros.
At that stage, particularly following his displays at Euro 2016, Swansea City could have been forgiven for thinking any shot they had at signing Sanches had come and gone. End-of-season evaluation However, Sanches’ first season at Bayern did not prove to be as successful as he would have hoped. The midfielder made 25 appearances, contributing neither a goal nor assist and started just four Bundlesliga games under Carlo Ancelotti.
During the first six months of that season he worked with Clement - who was Ancelotti’s assistant until the turn of the year – and his abilities were fresh in the mind of the 45-year-old once he had taken the reins at the Liberty.
And when Clement, the club’s owners, chairman Huw Jenkins, the scouting department and statistical guru Dan Altman held a series of meetings following the victory over West Brom on the final day of last season, Sanches name was back in the fray.
As the list of targets and options in several positions were assessed, Sanches work-rate and energy in midfield stood out but Swansea knew the task of landing such a high-profile player would be littered with potential pitfalls. Clement makes the difference At that stage, Swansea were confident they could make a convincing pitch to Bayern, but also realised they were likely to be the outsiders.
The one advantage they had came in the form of Clement’s relationship with the Bayern hierarchy and Ancelotti.
Once Swansea registered their interest in a loan at the start of the summer, the head coach used his range of contacts to state Swansea’s case in discussions over the deal and outline what the benefits of a move to the Liberty would be.
Similarly, it allowed the Swans boss to do his own due diligence on how Sanches had progressed since his departure from Bayern.
“I first contacted Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who is chief executive at Bayern Munich, early in the summer,’’ said Clement. “He explained that no decision had been made about Sanches’ future, but that a number of clubs were interested in him.
“I spoke to him again a week ago, together with manager Carlo Ancelotti and the player’s representative. They all felt Swansea was the perfect destination for him.
“They felt Swansea was a place he could be coached and developed - and where he would play more regularly.
“I’d like to thank Karl and Carlo for showing their trust in the club and myself as a coach by allowing Sanches to come.” Seeing off Europe’s big guns Even with Clement’s contacts, Swansea were acutely aware of what they were up against. The likes of Monaco, PSG and Juventus were all keen, as were some of the Premier League’s top six.
One of the key factors for Bayern was how much game time Sanches could expect at any potential destination, with the player himself wanting regular football in a season concluding with the World Cup in Russia.
The likes of Monaco and PSG, even with their Champions League commitments, have strength in depth and there was no certainty that Sanches would be first-choice.
While Swansea did not offer any guarantees that Sanches would play week-in ,week-out, it was also clear that the Welsh club were likely to offer the player the most game time.
Bayern were also thought to be keen to avoid loaning out Sanches to a Champions League rival which, obviously, was not a concern. Sealing the deal Despite growing confidence, Swansea tried to operate under the radar as they looked to avoid alerting other clubs to the chance that Sanches was on his way to the Liberty.
Even when news of their interest leaked out into the media, sources close to the club qualified the acknowledgement of their desire to sign the player by playing down the possibility of pulling off the swoop.
Liverpool withdrew their interest earlier in the week, and Swansea knew they were in the clear on Wednesday evening when PSG opted against continuing their efforts to sign Sanches.
The move is a significant one and seen by the club hierarchy as a real statement of intent given they have successfully attracted one of the best young players in Europe.
There is understood to be an option to buy Sanches at the end of the loan spell, but the asking price for that option to take place is understood to be very steep. The loan itself has cost a considerable amount, with a loan fee and the package for Sanches’ wages believed to come to between £6m and £7m.