Renato Sanches will be allowed to leave Lille if big club makes offer

Renato Sanches will be allowed to leave Lille if a sizable transfer bid is submitted in January or the summer, according to club president Olivier Letang.

The midfielder has rebuilt his career admirably since joining Les Dogues in 2019. He helped Lille to an unlikely Ligue 1 title triumph last season and attracted plenty of interest from across Europe at the end of the campaign.

Liverpool were among the clubs said to be keen, as they looked to replace Georginio Wijnaldum following his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Although no bid materialised in the summer, the Reds continue to monitor the situation and Letang admitted that Lille would not stand in the player's way should an acceptable offer come in.

"I have already spoken about it," he told BFM Lille (via the Express).

"I have already discussed with him, if an offer from a big club arrives, Renato will be able to leave. We will see what will happen.

"But for now, he is with us and he is happy to be. We saw that he had been able to show an interesting level of performance during his return from injury at the end of the season, but also at the Euros with Portugal."

As well as Liverpool, Arsenal were also strongly linked with Sanches in the summer. Wolves came very close to signing him on loan in August, but the deal was not finalised before deadline day. Barcelona were another interested party.

Sanches has endured an injury-hit start to the season, only featuring twice so far after picking up a meniscal injury at the beginning of the campaign. He should be back for Lille's visit to Clermont Foot on Saturday afternoon as Jocelyn Gourvennec's side look to close the gap on the Champions League places.