After winning over Roger, Luan back to square one, set to quit São Paulo | OneFootball

Without Roger Machado, dismissed in May after the elimination in the Copa do Brasil, defensive midfielder Luan’s situation has become uncertain again.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR revealed, Roger was one of the biggest supporters of the board sitting down and starting discussions to renew the contract of the Cotia academy product, 27, whose deal runs until the end of the year.

The problem for Luan is that the former coach was fired and Dorival Júnior took over. Not that the current manager has any issue with the player. Far from it. But the midfielder does not enjoy his full confidence. And there are signs of that…

In Dorival’s previous spell, which ended with the 2023 Copa do Brasil title, Luan had been sidelined by his predecessor Rogério Ceni. The impression was that he would make a comeback, since he was in the starting lineup in the coach’s debut match, on April 22 of that year, in the 3-0 win over América-MG. But he was soon pushed aside again. To the point that, in the final stretch of the campaign in Brazil’s main knockout competition, Alisson, then a winger, was used in midfield after Pablo Maia was absent because of his father’s death.

That season, Luan even reappeared in the team in the knockout matches against LDU in the Copa Sudamericana. He was even praised, but he apparently did not fully convince Dorival after the elimination on penalties against the Ecuadorians. And fitness was the reason given.

“These are situations involving marking and recovery, so we spoke a lot, he gave me feedback, which is very important for us. And I told him: ‘Coach, I agree and I’m going to work on that.’ So training ends, and I, just like Mendéz as well, do extra work with the fitness coach to improve and make things happen like today. If needed, be ready,” Luan said at the time.

“As for my fitness, I’m doing well, I’ve been working very hard. Even if I don’t post it on social media, I’m working at the training ground, outside the training ground, always in sync with São Paulo’s staff. People will always talk and I don’t pay attention to it. In daily work I show it, and coach Dorival is seeing it,” Luan told the press when asked about the coach’s comments.

Well, since then, the midfielder, once pointed to as one of the great talents from the club’s academy and who reached his peak by scoring the decisive goal in the 2021 Paulista title over rivals Palmeiras, has faded badly. He was left out of the squad by Thiago Carpini and was even loaned to Vitória.

His lifeline at Morumbi came precisely with the return of Hernán Crespo, the coach who led the team to the state title. Luan, who had appeared on some of the board’s lists of players available for transfer since the start of the year, was reintegrated. And he ended up being one of the indirect reasons behind the Argentine’s dismissal, after being surprisingly named in the starting lineup in the Paulista semifinal, again against rivals Palmeiras.

Well, with Dorival back, the No. 33, who has played 14 matches this year, ten of them coming off the bench, did get on the field in the return debut against Millonarios in the Sudamericana, but he remained on the bench against Botafogo and Boston River. In the last match, away to Remo, he was not even included in the squad.

The coach’s preference seems obvious: a preference for academy names such as Hugo Leonardo and Djhordney. And, of course, he asked for the signing of Newton from Botafogo, for whom the club has opened negotiations. Once again putting Luan’s stay in doubt.

This scenario further reduces Luan’s place in the planning for the rest of the season. His contract situation also weighs heavily. Since his deal expires in December, Tricolor will need to decide in the coming days whether it intends to renew his contract or negotiate his transfer to avoid losing him without financial compensation. But given the whole context, the feeling is that the cycle is indeed close to its end.

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