Chelsea suffer blow as target’s teammate advises snub

Renato Sanches: Opted for Bayern Munich switch

Chelsea’s hopes of signing Renato Sanches have suffered a setback after his Portugal teammate Joao Maria advised the player to snub the Blues in favour of a move to Milan.

The Rossoneri are trying to bring the youngster in on loan this summer with a view to possibly making that move permanent next summer.

But Sanches is also wanted by Chelsea, with Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealing Blues boss Antonio Conte expressed interest in the player after the clubs’ friendly in Singapore on last week.

“There are at least 10 teams after Sanches,” Rummenigge told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Conte asked for some information about him after Tuesday’s match because he knows he can make the difference in the middle of the pitch.

“The lad wants to play regularly but Ancelotti was pleased with his performance against Chelsea .

“We’ll make our evaluations later but if he does leave then he almost certainly will go on loan. We’re still counting on him.”

However, Inter Milan star Mario has told the teenage to forget about a move to the Premier League champions and accept the offer from Inter’s bitter city rivals AC Milan.

Mario claimed that he too had been in discussion with Sanches last Thursday after Inter played the Bundesliga giants in the same competition.

Joao Mario: Could be on his way to Merseyside

“We talked on Thursday, after the game,” he said. “He is young and he wants to play, I understand that.

“I told him that if he goes to AC Milan he’d join a big club and I’d have one more friend in Milan.”

Sanches moved to Bayern from Benfica only 12 months ago but the 19-year-old has struggled for a regular starting spot under manager Carlo Ancelotti.

He made just 17 appearances in the Bundesliga last season and Rummenigge says Chelsea are one of a number of teams keen on the Portugese teenager.

The player has also been linked with a move to Manchester United in the past, but they are yet to make any firm approaches for the player this summer.