Renato Sanches explains how Niko Kovac and Bayern’s front office convinced him to stay in Munich

Since joining the club in 2016, Renato Sanches has struggled to hit top form with Bayern Munich, plain and simple. The Portuguese midfielder hasn’t been able to string together consistently solid performances and has seen decreased minutes under Niko Kovac as a result. Despite this Kovac, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness, and Hasan Salihamidzic see plenty of potential in him and are confident his fortunes will change in Munich.

Per a new report by Bild+, Sanches said that he is now feeling good on the pitch after a solid pre-season that was capped off by a goal in Bayern’s 6-1 win over Fenerbache in the Audi Cup. He featured in all of Bayern’s pre-season matches between the International Champions Cup and the Audi Cup, except for the opening match of the ICC, which was the 2-1 loss against Arsenal in Los Angeles. Thus far, he feels things are already going a lot better than last season:

When I am on the field and then score on top of that, it feels very good — better than last season!

Sanches’s goal vs. Fenerbache. A perfectly-timed run to stay onside:

At the end of last season, Sanches’s future seemed to be up in the air. He was clearly unhappy with his lack of minutes under Kovac and it looked as if he was going to push for a move away from Munich during the summer transfer window.

After only making a total of 24 appearances across all competitions last season scoring only 2 goals and providing 3 assists, it looked well and truly as if Sanches was going to cut his losses and look for a new club. Now he’s decided to stay and work on bolstering his prospects with Bayern, though, larelgy thanks to Kovac and Bayern’s front office:

When the bosses told me that I have to stay, it felt good, even though I wanted to transfer. I could feel their appreciation! But I also need enough playing time.

Kovac has made a point of speaking with Sanches on a number of occasions to help convince him to stay at Bayern, assuring the 21-year old that he’s going to play an important role for the club moving forward. After all, it was Kovac who said no to Sanches potentially moving to Paris Saint-Germain during the winter transfer window because he wanted him to stay and fight for his place in the squad. After their most recent discussions, Sanches said that it’s clear what Kovac expects from him this season and that their relationship is good:

The coach and I have now spoken at length once or twice. Now I know exactly what he wants from me. Our relationship is normal. We shake hands and speak normally.

His current contract expires in 2021, but after all of the positive discussions with Kovac, Sanches is ready to stay and show the Bayern bosses that they’re not wrong to have so much faith in him:

There is still a month left in the transfer-window, but I have a contract here. If those in charge keep saying that I should stay, I’m staying.