Cruzeiro lead race for Sport's Zé Lucas with top bid, Flamengo keen | OneFootball

Sport prospect Zé Lucas is expected to join Cruzeiro

Cruzeiro is close to completing the signing of defensive midfielder Zé Lucas from Sport Recife. The Minas Gerais club made a financially better offer than Flamengo and managed to convince the 18-year-old player to accept the project.

Zé Lucas was more interested in Flamengo’s offer, even though the wages were lower than those offered by Cruzeiro. However, Sport’s desire to receive more for the player carried weight. The information was reported by journalist Venê Casagrande of SBT.

Flamengo offered 2 million euros (R$ 11.6 million) for 20% and clauses with mandatory purchase obligations until reaching 70% of the rights. In total, the deal would reach 6 million euros (R$ 34.8 million). Cruzeiro, meanwhile, put a similar amount on the table for Sport, but with more achievable targets.

The Minas Gerais side offered 3.5 million euros (R$ 20.4 million), plus clauses that could generate another 2.5 million euros (R$ 14.5 million). Adding both proposals together, the figures are equivalent. However, the targets included in the offers gave Cruzeiro the edge.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CLUBS’ OFFERS IN TERMS OF TARGETS?

In short, Flamengo made it clear that Zé Lucas would arrive to strengthen the under-20 team. In other words, the targets, which are related to minutes with the senior team, are further away. In fact, it was not even the professional football department handling the negotiations, but rather the youth academy management.

On the other hand, Cruzeiro guaranteed that Zé Lucas will go straight into the senior squad, pleasing Sport and the player’s camp. Even under those conditions, the youngster preferred to move to Flamengo, but the influence of the Pernambuco club and his family weighed heavily, and Cruzeiro are close to coming out on top in the battle.

WHO IS ZÉ LUCAS?

A product of Sport’s youth academy, the youngster has been an undisputed starter since last year, when the club played in the Brazilian Serie A, at just 17 years old. The defensive midfielder has also featured for Brazil’s youth national teams and is seen as the Recife club’s ‘financial salvation.’

However, amid negotiations with Flamengo, Cruzeiro, and European teams, Sport decided to sideline the youngster during the Brazilian Serie B campaign. This season, Zé Lucas has made 23 appearances, with no goals or assists. Last year, the youngster started for Brazil at the Under-17 World Cup.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION ON THE MATTER?

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