Gonçalo Tristão Santos warns Sporting: Chelsea could move for Maxi | OneFootball

Sporting are represented at the World Cup by eight players, with Maxi Araújo being the one who has made the biggest impact for his national team. The Sporting wing-back - whose future at the Club has not been guaranteed - has two goals and one assist in the two matches he has already played in the competition.

Given this scenario, Desporto ao Minuto spoke with Gonçalo Tristão Santos, Transfermarkt’s Area Manager in Portugal, to analyse the impact that both this playing time and these goal contributions could have on his market value. As such, the official highlighted Maxi Araújo’s positive impact, which could put him on the radar of Europe’s biggest clubs and also drive up the fee Sporting could receive from a potential sale.

"In this specific case of Maxi Araújo, it is even more obvious, because he is a player who has already had the shop window of the Champions League. Not only did he stand out at Sporting, but he also had a great Champions League campaign and is now shining at the World Cup. It is not easy to perform at such a high level in a competition like this, and Maxi, in the first two games, scored two goals and got an assist. I think it is an obvious sign that, if there were already clubs interested, those same clubs will certainly try to move forward with his signing," the official stressed, pointing to possible interest from Chelsea.

"There is a club here that, looking at the market dynamics, is starting to emerge as the favourite, and that is Chelsea. They have just sold Cucurella and are in the market for a player who can play on the left flank. With Maxi standing out in the Champions League and at the World Cup, Chelsea may well make a move for him. Whether it is Chelsea or any other club, Sporting are starting to find themselves in a position where they can raise their demands and expectations a little when it comes to selling Maxi this summer," Gonçalo Tristão Santos noted.

On the other hand, there are several Sporting players who have not yet been used at this World Cup, such as Diomande and Inácio. Even so, the official does not believe these cases will result in the players losing value. "No one who is not used at a World Cup is going to lose value, but they also do not gain value because they are not playing," he stressed. However, with several possible departures, Gonçalo Tristão Santos admits there is a question mark: "I do not know whether Sporting will allow themselves the luxury of selling all of those key players in the summer and starting next season with a completely new squad. That may well be the plan, I do not know if it is, but it does not seem likely to me because the team would have no continuity, no stability from one season to the next. It might not be such a bad thing for Sporting to keep Gonçalo Inácio or Diomande," he concluded.

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