The William Carvalho transfer saga is getting interesting now. If the reports are to be believed scouts of top European clubs are spending their valuable time watching him week after week.
He is a young solid defensive midfielder who is technically sound and has been in tremendous form – so, ticks all the boxes you need. The only fly in the ointment remains is his €45m buy-out clause. Plus, there is this perennial ownership issues in Portugal with Sporting only owning 60% of the player’s economic rights.
Paying such a ridiculous dosh on a 22-year-old who has yet to prove at the highest stages is simply ludicrous. But that hasn’t deterred top clubs to monitor him closely.
Before the January transfer window, Chelsea and Arsenal were also thought to be interested in him along with Manchester United. The Red Devils scouts even watched him when he was on loan to Cercle Brugge last season.
Back in November, we reported that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is taking a keen interest in the player, who has a contract till 2018.
Then in December, O Jogo published a story that says Arsenal scouts were also showing an interest, with chief scout Francis Cagigal was impressed with the youngster’s performances.
During the January transfer window, Chelsea signed Nemanja Matic from Benfica. Naturally, the interest in Carvalho cooled down, and then throughout January, February and March English tabloids speculated about his future, linking mainly with Manchester United with several outlets even claiming the Red Devils have agreed a deal for the highly rated midfielder.
O Jogo reporting today that Chelsea and Manchester City are still interested in the player, while other European clubs like Inter Milan and Juventus also monitoring his progress.
Sporting have always maintained they will not sell the player, until the release clause is met and now will try to convince him to stay next season to play the Champions League and further inflate his market value, under the promise that they will let him leave in the summer of 2015.
Bruno de Carvalho and Virgilo Lopez are key members of Sporting’s football structure, they’re the ones who are trying to convince Carvalho to stay and also has assured him of a salary hike at the club.
Carvalho is one of the worst paid members in the squad but he is the most valuable commodity right now so the proposed upgraded will be over 400% as per the report.
The interest from Chelsea really died down after they signed Matic, but it seems a) either they have reignited their interest or b) the newspaper just mentioned them as they were previously linked. The performances of Ramires and John Obi Mikel have been below par this season and either of them could be sold in the summer.
It remains to be seen whether Manchester United at all show any interest in him further, now that a new manager will be taking charge in the summer. In that case, can Chelsea make a move and hijack the deal?
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