Long time no see: agents offer Cruzeiro outcast and former São Paulo target | OneFootball

Argentinian during a match against Corinthians, in Itaquera (Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images)

RAFAEL EMILIANO@rafaelemilianoo

Lautaro Díaz.

The ONWARD MY TRICOLOR found out that the 27-year-old forward's agents approached São Paulo's directors offering the player, who has a contract until June 2028 with Cruzeiro, but is considered an outcast in the Minas Gerais team.

Díaz has long been a dream within Tricolor. More specifically since 2022, when playing for Independiente del Valle, he scored one of the two goals of the Ecuadorian team in their 2-0 victory over the Brazilians in the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

He was approached in early 2023 when, guess what, the club was looking for a backup for Calleri at the request of then São Paulo coach, Rogério Ceni. However, the negotiations did not prosper due to the high number of foreign players in the squad.

Since then, very little has changed in Díaz's utilization in the Cruzeiro team. The forward still hasn't exceeded the limit of games that would allow him to switch clubs in the Brazilian Championship (he only played six times in the competition). This is the reason why northeastern teams, such as Vitória and Ceará, have inquired about his situation.

As reported, the São Paulo response was the same as before, there is interest, but there is no way to pay for his release outright at this time. There is a promise of help from the staff to convince Cruzeiro.

With a spending cap and budget limit, Tricolor has difficulty going to the market in search of a name to strengthen its ranks. Either way, it will be a race against time, as the transfer window closes on September 2.

Before André Silva, the forwards Calleri and Ryan Francisco were already handed over to the medical department, recovering from surgeries they underwent during the year. Of the two, the glimmer of hope for a return this season is from the veteran Argentinian, who is already working on the field at CT da Barra Funda with physiotherapy.

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