Swansea City Boss Paul Clement Moves to Defend Under-Fire Midfielder After BT Sport Pundit Savagery

Swansea City boss Paul Clement has defended his under-fire midfielder Renato Sanches, who was the subject of much pundit criticism for his performance against Bournemouth last weekend. 

BT Sports' Robbie Savage and Chris Sutton gave scathing comments on the 20-year-old, branding him "woeful" and claiming he's shown "nothing" since joining the club.

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Speaking in the build-up to the Swans' midweek match against Chelsea, via Wales Online, Clement took exception to the use of the word 'woeful' in describing the young Portuguese international, and asserted:

"I didn’t see that on Saturday. I’ve got my own ideas about the way he played. Woeful is not a term that I would use for that performance. 

"I thought it was a performance that lacked some consistency. There was some very good things in there. It shows for someone of his age that he’s got brilliant physicality and he’s courageous. He doesn’t go hiding when he makes a mistake. You don’t see him disappear or go to the fringes of things. 

"He comes back and goes for the ball again, saying ‘I’m going to try, I’m going to try’. The fact that he is so involved in the play there is therefore greater probability that you are going to make some risks rather than standing on the fringes of things"

The Bayern Munich loanee has struggled to make an impact since moving to the Premier League last summer. In seven Premier League appearances, he is yet to make a single assist or score a goal. 

Sanches was part of the Portugal side who stunned France to win Euro 2016, and earned himself a wonderkid reputation during his impressive early days with Benfica.