Flamengo and Cruzeiro vying to sign Zé Lucas from Sport | OneFootball

Flamengo and Cruzeiro are competing to sign 18-year-old Sport midfielder Zé Lucas. According to Globo.com, the player has yet to decide amid contrasting proposals.

Sport view Cruzeiro’s bid as the more lucrative. The offer is to buy 80% of his rights for about 3.5 million euros fixed, with a further 2.5 million euros in achievable bonuses, and there is optimism of agreement.

Flamengo have signalled 2.5 million euros fixed, with performance bonuses of 3 to 4 million euros. Those targets depend on Zé Lucas featuring for the senior side, while the plan is to place him with the under-20s initially. That stance was not well received by his camp, complicating talks.

The talks on Flamengo’s side are being led by the academy department, mirroring recent moves to recruit more developed youngsters from other clubs. That model has been used in several cases in recent months.

Zé Lucas was excited by the chance to join Flamengo, which helped early progress. Even so, his representatives and family believe a switch to Cruzeiro, to play in the professional team, would be better right now.

Beyond Flamengo and Cruzeiro, Shaktar Donetsk and a club from France’s top division are monitoring the situation. The midfielder is out of Sport’s upcoming Série B matches until his future is resolved. He debuted for the first team last year and has made 57 appearances for Sport, winning two state titles.

Source: Globo.com