Sanches followed head coach Christophe Galtier to PSG from LOSC this summer, the pair at the front of a post-Mauricio Pochettino rebuild that also saw Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz, Carlos Soler, Nordi Mukiele and Hugo Ekitiké arrive at the club.

A European champion with his native Portugal and Ligue 1 Uber Eats winner with Lille, Sanches bagged his first PSG goal in the 5-2 win over Montpellier Hérault SC in Round 2, just a minute after coming on for Marco Verratti. Ligue1.com take a closer look…

1) A Golden Boy

Still just 25, Sanches has already been on world football's radar for some time. The Lisbon native broke through at Benfica in 2015 and helped the Eagles to the Portuguese domestic double in his first season, at the tender age of 18.

Taken to UEFA Euro 2016 as the youngest player in Portugal's squad the following summer, Sanches shone brightest despite having a prime Cristiano Ronaldo for company. Portugal beat France 1-0 in the final at the Stade de France, and he was later named Young Player of the Tournament before receiving European football's Golden Boy award that October.

2) Big-money move to Bayern

Bayern Munich paid Benfica a total of €80 million for Sanches's services ahead of the Euros, and he joined up with his new teammates the following season. The fee - which was €35m up front with €45m in add-ons - was the highest ever paid for a Primeira Liga player at the time.

Injuries, struggles adapting to a new country, and having the likes of Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcantara and Arturo Vidal in his way didn't help the young Sanches, though, and after just 25 appearances - only nine of them starts - he was allowed to leave on loan to Swansea in the Premier League.

3) Black Swan event

Sanches followed former Bayern assistant manager Paul Clement to Swansea in August 2017, with his pace and power expected to be well-suited to English football. But this spell in Sanches's career turned out to be his lowest ebb.

Sanches was subbed off at half-time of a 1-0 loss to Chelsea having passed to the advertising billboard on the side of a pitch, believing the moving sign to be an overlapping teammate.

"Renato knows he's had a very bad season," Clement's successor as manager Carlos Carvajal said at the time. "He's not at the level he was and when he had the injury in January, it finished him. Renato has a big talent, but he has much to learn. He stopped learning when he left Benfica and went to one of the biggest clubs in the world."

4) Finding his bite with les Dogues

After a brief return to Bayern, Sanches moved to France, with Lille taking a gamble on his talent in in 2019. At €25m, he was LOSC's most expensive signing, but to say they made a return on their investment through his performances would be an understatement.

Galtier got the best out of Sanches whether he was used in a double pivot alongside Benjamin André, as an inverted midfielder on the left or a de facto right-winger on the right. Sanches helped Lille to their first Ligue 1 Uber Eats title in 10 years in 2021, and last season continued to make everything look easy.

Variously compared to Edgar David although likening himself more to Davids' former Netherlands teammate Clarence Seedorf, Sanches had eight progressive carries and seven progressive passes per 90 minutes last season, and his perspiration came with inspiration, with the Swiss army knife midfielder making an average of four shot-creating actions per game.

5) Ready to peak in Paris?

Now 25, Sanches followed Galtier to Paris this summer, joining for a relative snip at €13m. Barcelona had wanted to sign the midfielder too, but PSG's pull was too strong.

"I'm sure I made the right choice by joining the club," he told the club's official website. "I chose Paris Saint-Germain because I think it's the best project for me. Stay in France? It was important for me because I already know this championship."

Sanches also already knows how to win it, and has wasted little time in impressing the PSG faithful. Sanches has Portugal international teammates Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Danilo Pereira for company at the Parc des Princes, and it wouldn't be safe to bet against them celebrating another league title in 2022/23.