Renato Sanches still sees himself playing an important role for Bayern Munich

There’s no disguising the fact that Renato Sanches has not had the most productive career with Bayern Munich thus far. After a difficult loan spell with Swansea City, the Portuguese midfielder returned to Munich reinvigorated and ready to fight for a spot under Niko Kovac, but it still hasn’t quite worked out for him.

Still, though, the 21-year-old feels he still has an important role to play for Bayern and that Kovac needs him in the squad. In a recent interview captured by Bundesliga.com, Sanches spoke with reporters about how he feels about the upcoming season to the press in Los Angeles as Bayern are in the United States for the Audi preseason tour:

I just want what’s best for me. If the best for me is to stay here, I’ll stay — I want to play football.

He revealed that he’s had intensive chats with Kovac to where the understanding is that the manager does not want him to leave Bayern and has ensured the midfielder he’s going to be given another chance to prove his worth in the squad. It’s almost like a fresh start for Sanches, so to speak, along with some of the other fringe players in the team:

We’ve spoken about everything. We’ve talked about my situation and training. He told me that he’s going to give me and the other players a chance to prove ourselves. Me and the other players, we’re starting from zero. I think he needs me because I’m a good player and the club believes in me.

Kovac also reiterated his desire for Sanches to stay and work for more consistent minutes with Bayern:

I’ve made it very clear, Sanches isn’t going anywhere.

With his latest remarks, it does seem as if Sanches has grown slightly more confident that he will have a bigger part to play this upcoming season. When he was asked about his future earlier this month, he didn’t sound quite as optimistic as he does now:

I will see. I want what is best for me. If that means that I should stay, then I will stay. But, I will have to wait. I have another two years contract here.

It’s also important to remember that Sanches had voiced his frustration of a lack of minutes prior to Bayern kicking off a friendly match against SpVgg Lindau at the end of May. He started from the bench and reportedly said:

Thank God, just 45 minutes of FC Bayern left, then vacation and then never, never again!

It certainly seems that the conversations that he’s had with Kovac have given him a great deal of reassurance to the point where he feels like he really can change his fortunes this season. Hopefully for Bayern, he does string together a series of strong performances this season. Otherwise, it really might be time for him to look elsewhere for a club where he can see more consistent playing time.

Keep the bad energy away, Renato!