Palmeiras move fades as Fluminense watch Nino's situation | OneFootball

Palmeiras is now further away from signing center-back Nino, currently at Zenit. According to ge, the negotiations, which had progressed behind the scenes at the start of the year, lost momentum after the São Paulo club moved closer to signing Alexander Barboza from Botafogo.

With talks between Palmeiras and Nino cooling down, Fluminense is closely monitoring the defender’s situation and is interested in a possible return. The player, who stood out and won titles with the Rio club before moving to Zenit, is internally seen as a name who could strengthen the Tricolor defense this season.

Before the possibility of signing Barboza emerged, the green-and-white club still considered Nino a target for the mid-season transfer window. However, the board began to reassess the need to invest in another defender for the squad, which already includes names such as Gustavo Gómez, Murilo, Bruno Fuchs and Benedetti.

Palmeiras had already agreed on salary terms with Nino during the first transfer window of the year and began talks with Zenit to try to make the transfer happen. The first offer sent by the São Paulo club was 7 million euros (around R$ 41.3 million), but it was rejected by the Russians.

Later, the figures being discussed increased, and the green-and-white board believed it could reach approximately 12 million euros (around R$ 70 million) to try to complete the deal. Zenit, however, indicated that it would only resume discussions over a possible sale after the end of the Russian league season, which reaches its final round this weekend with the club in first place.

At the same time, Palmeiras began negotiating with Botafogo over the signing of Alexander Barboza. The Argentine center-back is under contract with the Rio club until the end of the year and did not reach an agreement on a renewal, which led the black-and-white board to accept a sale now in order to secure financial compensation.

The deal stipulates that Palmeiras will pay around 4 million dollars (approximately R$ 20 million) for the defender, an amount that will be paid in four installments. Barboza has already undergone medical exams, but he will remain available to Botafogo until the Club World Cup.

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