Urgent: São Paulo and Botafogo near deal, No 6 to be Dorival's first buy | OneFootball

São Paulo’s board made progress with Botafogo on Thursday night (28) in negotiations to sign defensive midfielder Newton, a request from coach Dorival Júnior.

According to what AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, the talks, which had seemed stalled throughout the day, finally moved forward after a positive signal from the 26-year-old player’s camp about transferring to Morumbi.

In the first contacts made by São Paulo’s board with the Rio club earlier this week, the deal seemed unlikely under the proposed terms: Botafogo would only accept a permanent transfer for 5 million euros (approximately R$ 29 million) for 100% of the rights.

In an attempt to lower the asking price, São Paulo even offered center-back Arboleda, who is not in the club’s plans, as part of the deal. But the arrangement was not accepted by Botafogo.

However, things became more flexible because of their financial crisis, after they were hit with their fourth transfer ban of the year last Wednesday (27).

Sources from São Paulo’s top brass told the report that Thursday’s talks revolve around a loan deal with a mandatory purchase clause if certain targets are met, such as number of matches played and offers from overseas clubs. It is the same model through which Tricolor managed to sign Artur.

At the moment, the club’s board is trying to agree on the figures for the future purchase and the fee for the immediate loan.

Newton is a request from Dorival, who wants to increase competition in the position and admires the player for his versatility, height, and marking ability. Through the player’s camp, the signal received is that a move to the São Paulo club is seen positively. At the start of the year, for example, he nearly signed with rivals Santos.

The defensive midfielder played 17 matches for Botafogo this season and scored one goal. Under Martín Anselmi, he was even used as an emergency center-back. Under Franclim Carvalho, however, he lost space and featured in only three matches, starting in two of them.

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