Vasco turn down Shandong Taishan offer for Lucas Freitas | OneFootball

Vasco remains firm in its stance to keep the squad together for the 2026 season. The Cruzmaltino board has rejected an approach from Shandong Taishan of China for center-back Lucas Freitas. The Asian club made a loan offer for the 25-year-old defender, but the proposal was promptly turned down by the São Januário directors.

The decision not to negotiate the player is part of the technical staff’s planning. The club has confidence in the player and does not intend to go to the market to look for another name for the position, since it has already completed the permanent signing of Carlos Cuesta and the acquisition of Alan Saldivia.

+ Is Vasco negotiating with Alisson? São Paulo’s director responds

Internal planning and confidence in the player

Although he lost his starting spot with the arrival of reinforcements, Lucas Freitas is internally regarded as an important piece in the group, currently serving as the immediate backup to Robert Renan. The understanding is that releasing the defender now would weaken the squad in a sector that requires constant rotation due to the tight schedule.

This was not the first time Vasco had to hold on to the defender. Previously, the club had already turned down two approaches from Série A teams, with Vitória being one of the main clubs interested in signing the player for the season. The resistance to negotiating him shows that the board values squad depth for the year’s competitions.

Loss of playing time and defensive hierarchy

Despite his prestige behind the scenes, Lucas Freitas is currently experiencing a period of limited minutes at Vasco. Signed last year, he saw his participation decrease in 2026, playing in only one match of the Campeonato Carioca, against Nova Iguaçu, on January 18.

He went five games without being included in the squad, returning to the bench only in the match against Chapecoense. The rejection of the Chinese offer, however, signals that coach Fernando Diniz counts on him for the remainder of the Brasileirão and other competitions.

Lucas Freitas in action in the 2025 Brasileirão – Photo: Thiago Ribeiro/AGIF

+ Follow Papo na Colina on social media: Thread, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Tiktok and Google News.

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