Manchester United’s indecision to sign Renato Sanches is what allowed Bayern Munich to swoop in and sign the young Benfica midfielder, according to Sky Sports.
United were all but set to sign the 18-year-old before the Bundesliga champions swooped in at the eleventh hour to seal a €35 million deal for one of the hottest prospects in world football.
And Sky sources say that the box-to-box midfielder would have agreed to join United if they had agreed a deal with Benfica, with the reigning Portuguese champions looking to fetch the highest fee for Sanches, fearing that his value would drop if he were not selected for Portugal’s Euro 2016 squad.
Sanches’ agent, Jorge Mendes, was aware of United’s interest but was unable to stall other clubs from bidding for the 18-year-old as the Reds deliberated on whether to splash the cash on another youngster, as they did with Anthony Martial last summer.
United sources say that while the club scouted Sanches in detail (having been at every Benfica home game since the start of January), manager Louis van Gaal ultimately vetoed the deal for the midfielder and opted to pursue other transfer targets.
Fans were up in arms over United’s failure to seal the deal for Sanches, and it remains a mystery as to why they didn’t do so. While it’s understandable that Sanches picked Bayern over the Reds, the 18-year-old would have been a great addition to the United midfield lacking explosiveness at the moment.
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