Superstar Sanches spluttering along
THERE was a moment towards the end of the first half when Renato Sanches took possession on the right of Swansea’s midfield and had a look at Son Heungmin, but caution got the better of him. He rolled the ball safely inside to Sam Clucas and threw his hands in the air in frustration.
Possession had been kept, which surely represents progress of sorts, given how willingly he coughed up the ball on his muchanticipated debut against Newcastle last Sunday.
But it still feels like he is only halfway there and he knows it. So much is expected and so much said about the extraordinary loan deal on deadline day that took one of the world’s most hyped young talents from Bayern Munich to Swansea. And yet he has not got going, his game still fumbling around in the low gears. Plainly, ring rust is an issue for a 20-year-old who, it should not be forgotten, has only 62 appearances to his name across Benfica, Bayern and now Swansea.
This one was halted after 58 minutes, which is 10 fewer than he got against Newcastle, but the quality here was better than the quantity there. That game was underwhelming — indeed, in the first 28 minutes at the Liberty Stadium, he gave the ball away 14 times. Not ideal, even if he had only arrived in the city two days earlier.
This was better, certainly in terms of ball retention. Maybe manager Paul Clement needs to give him the freedom to play further forward. Until then, the wait for lift-off continues.