Monday 4 September 2017 12:28, UK
Alfie Mawson has revealed Swansea players questioned whether the deal to sign Renato Sanches would actually happen.
Swansea manager Paul Clement was able to convince Sanches to make a loan move to the Liberty Stadium having worked closely with him during his time as Carlo Ancelotti's assistant at Bayern Munich, despite the 20-year-old having long been mooted as a target for Manchester United.
Sanches burst onto the scene at Benfica before impressing for Portugal at Euro 2016, where at 18 he became the youngest finalist in the tournament's history after he started in Portugal's extra-time triumph over France in Paris.
The midfielder made just nine starts for Bayern Munich last season after a £27.5m move to the Bundesliga giants, and Mawson believes Sanches will benefit from game time at Swansea - even if his move to south Wales came as something of a shock to the dressing room.
Mawson told Premier League Daily: "Some of us may have thought 'is it really going to go through? Is it nonsense?' You never know so until it all got confirmed it was just 'that will be a good signing if we can pull it off'.
"Fair play to the manager, the chairman and the owners for pulling that off. They got that one over the line and I think he's going to be a really big asset for us."
Mawson added: "We know the quality he possesses, he's shown that especially for Portugal. At Bayern he didn't get as many games I'm sure he would have liked, but he's come to Swansea and he's going to get the opportunity to play."
Swansea also re-signed striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City before the transfer window closed, and although Mawson's arrival at the Liberty came after Bony's departure, his team-mates have warned the forward will be tough opposition on the training ground.
"All I've heard is that he's an absolute beast in training and in games," said Mawson.
"The dressing room love him, Swansea love him, he's going to be welcomed back with open arms and I know he's going to score us goals."
