São Paulo reject bids for Eduardo, Scarpa, eye ex-Santos in USA | OneFootball

On the verge of being left without attacking midfielders in the squad, since Oscar is about to retire and Rodriguinho is expected to receive offers from Europe, São Paulo really does seem to be in the market looking for playmakers to strengthen their squad for 2026. It’s no coincidence that some websites have ‘confirmed’ that the club had reached a pre-agreement with a number 10. But the truth is, the search is still in its very early stages.

According to information gathered by AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, two names that had previously interested the club were offered and rejected by executive Rui Costa. In fact, one name being considered by the Morumbi club is a young talent from Santos who is currently in the USA.

With the market aware that São Paulo is seeking attacking midfielders, two such players were offered in recent days. The first was Eduardo. The 36-year-old veteran will not stay at Cruzeiro, as his contract ends in December. After a long career abroad, with stints in Portugal, France, and the Arab world, the player gained some notoriety at Botafogo before transferring to Belo Horizonte (MG).

Well, at the beginning of the year, when his contract with the Rio de Janeiro team ended, São Paulo emerged as one of the interested parties, but the assessment was that the player would be too expensive. And the priority was Oscar, who had just been signed.

Eduardo’s agents contacted São Paulo offering Eduardo, but the response was short and to the point: there is no interest. To AMT, sources from São Paulo’s upper management indicated that the assessment remains the same: too expensive, and too old. This year, his performance was actually satisfactory: five goals and one assist in 51 matches played.

The high cost was also the reason the Morumbi club dismissed any talks for Gustavo Scarpa.

The report found that the player, currently in poor form at Atlético-MG and desperate for a change of scenery, was offered last week. Tricolor refused to even start talks without hesitation. The initial values are far above what the club intends to spend. Not to mention the complications of taking him from Galo, who have no intention of easily letting go of their playmaker.

Scarpa has interested São Paulo at various times. Now 31, he received an offer in 2018 when his contract with Fluminense ended. But he chose to go to rivals Palmeiras. Later, he was approached when he decided to return to Brazil last year after his European adventure failed. But the amounts paid by Atlético were unfeasible.

The previous flirtation may have been the motivation for his staff to offer him to São Paulo, as he’s been criticized by the Minas Gerais fans and has 12 assists and three goals in 66 games played this year.

THE REAL TARGET

São Paulo is indeed looking for attacking midfielders. And it seems they are targeting young players.

AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned that one of the targets sounded out by Rui Costa was Gabriel Pirani.

The 23-year-old was developed by rivals Santos, where he didn’t cause much of a stir, had a loan spell at Fluminense, and was eventually transferred to DC United in the USA.

In MLS, the former Santos player gained some prominence. He scored eight goals and provided three assists in 29 games. That’s why he’s now on São Paulo’s radar.

Pirani has a contract until the end of next year, but there is a clause in the agreement for renewal for one more season, which makes negotiations a bit more difficult for the Morumbi club.

There were inquiries about the price. And DC United demanded around R$ 16.5 million to release him. Tricolor wanted a loan deal with clauses for a permanent transfer based on performance during the loan period. However, under this model, not even the player’s staff, who were initially excited by the contact, are interested in continuing negotiations.

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