Renato Sanches’ underwhelming maiden season at Paris Saint-Germain could see him leave Ligue 1 for Roma this summer.
As per Gianluca Di Marzio, the Italians have identified the 25-year-old as their top midfield target and are already discussing deal feasibility with his agent Jorge Mendes.
PSG outperformed AC Milan in the race to sign the Portuguese star last summer, paying Lille €15 million to take him to the Parc des Princes on Christophe Galtier’s insistence.
However, very few things went Sanches’ way in his debut season in Paris, as he only made six league starts for Les Parisiens, spending most of the 2022/23 campaign as Galtier’s last midfield choice.
Galtier’s dismissal earlier this month won’t aid the ex-Benfica man’s cause, with PSG looking to offload him to the highest bidder as part of Luis Enrique’s squad overhaul.
It’s not like the suitors are ready to start a bidding war to capture his services, with Roma moving at the head of the queue, albeit they are the only club interested in signing him on loan.
Jose Mourinho is a long-term admirer of Sanches, and this could be his best opportunity to coach the box-to-box midfielder if the Giallorossi can convince PSG to green-light a loan move.
Roma persuaded the record-time French champions to let Georginio Wijnaldum switch to the Stadio Olimpico on favourable terms last summer but refused to take up the buyout option after his loan deal expired.
That could deter Les Parisiens from accepting the Italians’ terms.
PSG are unlikely to commit the same mistake twice. But Roma may be banking on Sanches’ desire to revive his career outside Paris to pressure Enrique’s side to sanction another temporary agreement.
Roma have taken a proactive approach this summer after narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification last season.
Rasmus Kristiansen, Evan Ndicka and Houssem Aouar have joined the squad, while Diego Llorente convinced Leeds United to let him stay in Rome for another season.
