Sporting go all out for Issa Doumbia and weigh opening the purse strings | OneFootball

Sporting’s qualification for the Champions League, secured after a 3-0 win over Gil Vicente, has given fresh momentum to the lion SAD’s transfer market strategy. After sealing Rodrigo Zalazar and with Pedro Lima’s deal virtually wrapped up, the green and whites are now going all in for Issa Doumbia.

According to Record, a Sporting delegation will travel to Milan this week to meet with Venezia officials and try to finally unlock the transfer of the Italian midfielder. Sporting want to get the deal done quickly and avoid a further rise in competition for the Italy under-21 international.

The 22-year-old continues to attract strong interest across the European market. Besides the Lions, Roma, Newcastle, Everton, Brentford and Benfica have also shown interest to Venezia. In the last few hours, Juventus have also been mentioned, although no formal approach has been made so far.

Given this scenario, the Italians have toughened their stance in negotiations. The €15 million initially requested is no longer enough to complete the transfer, and Venezia are trying to take advantage of the growing international interest to maximize their financial return.

Despite the concerns starting to emerge at Alvalade due to the rising figures, the administration led by Frederico Varandas remains determined to secure the midfielder. The Sporting delegation will have room to make the offer more flexible and even go beyond the €20 million mark through add-ons, if that allows the deal to be concluded by the end of the week.

From the player’s side, the desire remains clear. Issa Doumbia sees Sporting as the most appealing option for the next stage of his career, especially because of the chance to play in the Champions League, a goal he has already publicly acknowledged in recent interviews.

The midfielder has already gathered detailed information about the Alvalade club and is now waiting for Venezia’s authorization to move forward in personal negotiations with the Lions. If the transfer goes through, the Italian will have the task of filling the gap left by Hidemasa Morita, who has already said goodbye to Sporting’s fans after the win against Gil Vicente.

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