Bayern Munich Transfer News: Swansea City to Keep Faith with Renato Sanches

Swansea City manager Paul Clement has backed Bayern Munich loanee Renato Sanches to turn his current rotten form around and said he is confident the midfielder will deliver "sooner rather than later."

According to Steffan Thomas in the Daily Star, Clement said the 20-year-old will not return to Bayern in January—he is on a one-year loan deal at the Liberty Stadium—and explained the German club and Swansea are working together to get the best out of him:

"There were two representatives from Bayern at the Chelsea game [on Wednesday]. We are working together to make this right for both sides. I am in regular contact with them about how Renato is doing and Bayern very much want to support him.

"I thought he would provide an attacking threat and we believe in him, but it is clear he is struggling. We have not seen him near his best, but we are working very hard to try and help him do that.

"I think I have a good understanding of how to try and get the best out of young talent. It is very difficult, but this experience will make Renato stronger and sooner rather than later, he will deliver."

Sanches was substituted at half-time in Swansea's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday after a chastening 45 minutes, which included him misplacing a pass after seeming to mistake an advertising hoarding for a team-mate.

The Independent and BT Sport Score provided some individual statistics for the Portugal international:

Worryingly for Clement and Swansea, Sanches' showing at Stamford Bridge was not out of the ordinary.

In eight league appearances for the Welsh outfit since he joined at the end of August, Sanches has shown barely any of the talent that saw him named Young Player of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 2016.

A year ago, Sanches was viewed by many as one of the most exciting midfield talents in Europe, and Bayern paid £27.5 million to sign him from Benfica ahead of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, as noted by Sky Sports' Jefferson Lake.

He had a poor debut season at the Allianz Arena, but Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said upon Sanches' move to Swansea that confidence was still high he could reach his potential given regular game time, per the Guardian: "We remain convinced he has the potential to become an important player for FC Bayern in the future. For this reason the agreement states that the player will return to FC Bayern on 1 July 2018 with no option to make the transfer permanent."

Sanches has arguably regressed in the Premier League, and his performance at Stamford Bridge was a sad sight at times, per the BBC's John Bennett:

However, Clement's backing could serve as a confidence boost for Sanches, who still has plenty of time to turn his form around given his young age.