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Paul Clement says Renato Sanches has had the wake-up call he needs after he confirmed there is no chance of him heading back to Bayern Munich next month.

There had been speculation on-loan midfielder Sanches – once young European footballer of the year but who has struggled in South Wales – was set for an ignominious return to parent club Bayern following his poor form at the Liberty.

Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes dismissed reports of discussions to end the year-long deal early, and Clement has reiterated that the 20-year-old will see out the season at Swansea.

The Swans boss said that there had been no talks with Bayern and added that there were no stipulations to say he had to either be guaranteed games or that the Bundesliga side could recall him if he didn’t play in a certain amount of games.

The rumours came at a time where Sanches has been dropped from Clement’s match day squad on the back of his disastrous performance at Chelsea that saw the Euro 2016 winner widely mocked.

But Clement has hinted a return for the midfielder and said he has responded well since suffering the axe.

Sanches has not been on the bench for the Swans’ last two Premier League fixtures, with some using it to highlight the fall of a player who cost Bayern £35m to capture him from Benfica last summer.

It led Heynckes – who replaced Carlo Ancelotti at the German giants in October – to say: “I have to say Renato is a huge talent, but talent is just the one thing. Talents also need the discipline to work daily on their game in order to get integrated and become a team player. Young players also need support and firm leadership – with some strong words from time to time."

And Clement believes dropping the former Golden Boy winner was doing just that, saying: “What I did over the last two games is showing we can be forceful with him. There's different ways to be forceful, for me there’s nothing more forceful of being left out of the 18.

(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

“I hope that the realisation of how he’s played, the inconsistency, he can’t expect to keep getting picked if he’s not performing at the level. I have to think about the team first. Renato is a good player and I do believe he can make a contribution to us. But in order to do that he has to start playing to his potential and when he does that he will feature a lot more.

“We will stay with him, keep working with him, keep showing we have belief in him. An obvious answer would be that we keep putting him in the squad, but we have to work with him behind the scenes on the training ground and in the video room. We need to get him back to what he is capable of but his confidence is clearly low. It was low when he came here and we would have hoped that it would have gone back up to a very good level. But it's taken more time than we would have hoped.”

Sanches has not started a league game since the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth last month, a game where he had showed glimpses of his talent with hope at the Liberty still that he could play a big part in pushing Swansea away from relegation danger.

(Image: PA)

And that could yet start at Goodison, with Clement suggesting there is a possibility the 13-cap international could return to the side for Monday’s trip to Everton with Swansea needing to bounce back from heavy defeat to Manchester City.

He added: “He’s been out of the last two squads, which is obviously not a good situation for Renato, he’s not very happy about it, but his reaction is very good in training. He's very motivated and knows what he needs to do to break back not only into the 18 but into the starting XI as well.

“But he absolutely has the chance of making the squad, if he continues to train as he has today and into the game. I always say to players when you have been left out of the squad and the team want to play then you have to prove me wrong. You have to show me things that make me change my mind. He’s in the same situation as others; they have to show me every day something that is going to make me change my mind.

“I really hope Swansea fans see the best of him. I can’t predict the future. I know the skills I have to get the best out of young players and I believe in the skills he has. Hopefully we can work together for a good solution.”