Renato Sanches is expecting to remain at Bayern Munich, with the Portuguese midfielder claiming that manager Niko Kovac “needs me because I’m a good player”.
The 21-year-old has endured a tough time since moving to the Allianz Arena in the summer of 2016.
He arrived as a European Championship winner with his country, while he also collected the prestigious Golden Boy award.
Sanches has suffered a rather humbling fall from grace since then, taking in just 50 appearances for Bayern and a forgettable loan spell at Swansea as they were relegated out of the Premier League.
Time is, however, still on his side.
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He believes that he can prove his worth to the Bundesliga champions and is confident that he will be given the opportunities to do just that during the 2019-20 campaign.
There has been further transfer speculation swirling around him this summer, but Sanches is looking to remain in his current surroundings.
“I just want what's best for me,” he told reporters while away on pre-season duty with Bayern in America.
“If the best for me is to stay here, I'll stay - I want to play football.”
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Sanches claims to have received assurances from manager Kovac that he will get his chance.
He added: “We’ve spoken about everything.
“We’ve talked about my situation and training. He told me that he’s going to give me and the other players a chance to prove ourselves.
“Me and the other players, we’re starting from zero. I think he needs me because I’m a good player and the club believes in me.”
Kovac has backed up those comments, with the Bayern boss claiming that he would like to see Sanches stick around at Bayern rather than seek a new challenge elsewhere.
He has said: “We've told Renato that we'd like him to stay.
“He's obviously been considering his options after last season, but we explained the reasons behind his limited game time and he understood them. He sees his future with us.”
Bayern are set to face La Liga giants Real Madrid in the International Champions Cup on Saturday.