Dorival wants a stronger Corinthians, hints Alisson is close | OneFootball

Coach Dorival Júnior intends to have a "more robust" squad to face the long season that Corinthians will have ahead. After the draw with Santos on Thursday, in the Campeonato Paulista, the coach once again emphasized the need for reinforcements in the team.

Dorival spoke of a "limited squad" and warned of the difficulties in making substitutions and maintaining the team's level.

"We need to have the squad a bit more complete as soon as possible. Marcelo [Paz] is working hard for this. We need to have the possibility of changes that maintain the standard the team has been presenting," stated the coach in a press conference.

"We are working to have a more composed, more balanced squad, so we don't go through the struggles we faced last year. We had many players in the medical department, which was very bad for our group. We need a more composed squad for a championship [Brasileirão] that is very demanding. We had a misleading break, we didn't even have recovery, let alone preparation. Our start to the year is very compromised, we are at risk of losing players due to this limited squad," he added.

Alisson close?

Asked about Alisson, Dorival almost confirmed the São Paulo player as a reinforcement for Corinthians. He praised the athlete a lot and even talked about how he plans to use him in the team.

"Alisson is not being utilized in his team. With me, he did very well. When I met him at Vasco, he was always a very interesting player. I changed the position he played based on the characteristics he presented. If he finds his best form here, he will be an important reinforcement. We have few elements there in the midfield, we need changes, alternations, due to the wear and tear. You end up having fewer possibilities for a safer change," he assessed.

Later, the coach backtracked and emphasized that the contract is not yet finalized.

"Many names have been raised, I even went too far talking about Alisson without the situation being finalized. Let's wait a bit. If there is any movement in the market, we can speak more securely," he said.

(Photo: Rubens Chiri/São Paulo)

Corinthians is negotiating a one-season loan for the midfielder. However, to lend him to the rival, São Paulo asks for R$ 1.5 million and 250,000 euros (R$ 1.5 million) in bonuses if the player completes 45 minutes in 25 games for Timão.

In a financial crisis, the alvinegro club is trying to split the amount to start paying from 2027. The parties are still discussing the payment method and trying to reach a common ground.

Corinthians has already announced Gabriel Paulista, Matheus Pereira, and Pedro Milans and is close to confirming two more reinforcements: Kaio César and João Ricardo.

Next Corinthians match

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