Former Swansea boss Paul Clement: Renato Sanches is far more damaged than I thought

Clement signed Sanches on loan from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, but the young midfielder has struggled to adapt to the Premier League

Renato Sanches is on loan at Swansea from Bayern Munich (Getty)

Former Swansea manager Paul Clement has described Renato Sanches, who he signed on a season loan from Bayern Munich before losing his job, as “damaged”.

Clement signed Sanches in the summer transfer window, having been impressed with the 20-year-old’s performances for Portugal at Euro 2016.

But the youngster’s loan move has turned out to be a disaster. Clement lost his job in December and Sanches has struggled to nail down a spot in Swansea’s first-team, struggling with poor form and fitness.

And Clement has now revealed that Sanches wasn’t that keen on the move in the first place.

“Bayern really supported [the loan],” Clement told The Times. “They thought he was going to a club who played football, and to a coach who would care and give him the attention he needs.

“He (Sanches) wasn't so keen initially. He thought he was going to go to Manchester United, Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain. Bayern were saying, ‘You're not going there, it would be the same situation, you're not going to play’.”

Sanches has struggled for Swansea and Clement admitted that the player is more damaged then he thought, describing the situation as “really sad”.

“When he came, he was far more damaged than I thought,” Clement said. “It was really sad. He was a boy who had almost got the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“In training, when that pressure is not there, he was the best player. But then in games, I looked at the choices he was making, shooting from 45 yards on the angle, and he kept making those mistakes.

“He got in a vicious cycle of poor choices. The other players were saying, "he's playing like that and you're not picking me” so it became difficult to pick him.”