Issa Doumbia makes history before Sporting announcement | OneFootball

Issa Doumbia is on the verge of officially becoming a Sporting player, bringing to a close a scouting and negotiation process that began several months ago. The 22-year-old Italian midfielder has already been seen in Lisbon taking part in his presentation photo shoot, and everything points to the deal being made official very soon.

The signing of the Italy Under-21 international was identified early on as a priority by the structure led by Frederico Varandas. According to newspaper O Jogo, the lions’ first contacts and moves date back to November, at a time when Issa Doumbia was beginning to stand out for Venezia. The prolonged monitoring allowed Sporting to position themselves early in a process that quickly attracted the attention of several European clubs.

The competition was intense. In addition to Benfica, Everton, Newcastle, Brentford and Bournemouth also closely followed the midfielder’s progress, as did major Italian clubs, including Juventus, Roma and Fiorentina. Even so, the project presented by the green and whites convinced the player, who has been closely following Sporting’s reality for several months and sees Alvalade as the opportunity to fulfil his dream of playing in the Champions League.

To secure the signing, Sporting had to meet the figures demanded by Venezia. The agreement provides for a fixed payment of €20 million, plus €3 million in more achievable add-ons and another €3 million dependent on more difficult targets being met. Doumbia will sign a contract until 2031 and will be protected by an €80 million release clause.

The investment ultimately places the midfielder in the history books of Italian football. Even considering only the fixed €20 million fee involved in the deal, Doumbia becomes the most expensive transfer ever involving a player coming from Serie B. The previous record belonged to Angelo Di Livio, who moved from Padova to Juventus in 1993 in a transfer that, converted into today’s currency, was worth around €13 million.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.