Bayern Munich now have a decision to make about Renato Sanches.

When the German club paid a fee that could rise to €80 million for the Portuguese midfielder in 2016, it seemed like a certain win.

It was the same summer in which he helped Portugal win the European Championship, collecting the Young Player of the Tournament award for his performances in France.

Later on in 2016 Sanches would beat Marcus Rashford and Kingsley Coman to the Golden Boy award.

Yet Sanches made just 25 appearances in all competitions during his first season at Bayern and so the decision was made to loan him out to Swansea City for the 2017-18 campaign.

What a disaster that turned out to be.

Sanches made just 15 appearances for the Swans, the last of which came in January.

What's next for Sanches?

He was criticised by the club’s supporters earlier this month for announcing the launch of his own emojis a day after Swansea were beaten by Southampton.

So, what’s next for the 20-year-old?

According to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, a return to Benfica.

They claim that Benfica are already in advanced negotiations over a deal to sign Sanches on loan for the 2018-19 season.

It’s reported that Benfica are happy to pay a significant amount towards Sanches wages to make the move happen.

Sanches himself is ready to return to the club he joined as a nine-year-old.

He knows he’s likely to get regular first-team football at Benfica, which is important as he plans to get his career back on track.

It’s an almighty shame that the Premier League didn’t get to witness the best of Sanches.

But Paul Clement’s quotes on the youngster from February painted a rather grim image of the situation that he found himself in.

“When he came, he was far more damaged than I thought,” Clement, who brought Sanches to Swansea before being sacked in December, said.

“It was really sad. He was a boy who had almost got the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“In training, when that pressure is not there, he was the best player.

“But then in games, I looked at the choices he was making, shooting from 45 yards on the angle, and he kept making those mistakes.

“He got in a vicious cycle of poor choices. The other players were saying, ‘he's playing like that and you're not picking me’ so it became difficult to pick him.”

Here’s hoping Sanches can find himself again at Benfica.