Dorival wants 2023 favourite back, free agent after fleeing war | OneFootball

One of the many topics that led Dorival Júnior to spend hours in talks last Thursday (14) with the football department before signing his return to São Paulo was new signings. Informed about the club’s financial problems, the coach heard from Rafinha and Rui Costa that the priority would be players who could arrive on loan or without a transfer fee. That was enough for him to pull out a suggestion from his pocket, one very familiar to Tricolor fans.

Even though he said in his introductory press conference that he had not demanded signings from the board, Dorival did in fact draw attention to the possibility of sounding out Talles Costa, a 23-year-old midfielder developed at Cotia who has been a free agent since late March, when he terminated his contract with Ukraine’s Polissya because of the problems caused by the war between the country and neighboring Russia.

Costa is something of a favorite of Dorival’s. Although he was used little in practice during the coach’s previous spell at the club in 2023, internally he always spoke highly of the player’s qualities. Costa was only sold after Dorival left for the Brazilian national team at the beginning of the following month.

As AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR has learned, Dorival even suggested the player’s name to Corinthians, the club where he was working before returning to Morumbi.

Even after more than two years in Ukraine, São Paulo remains the club for which the youngster has played the most: 52 matches, with one goal and two assists. Still with Tricolor, he also won the U-17 World Cup with the Brazilian national team in 2019.

At São Paulo, the youngster won the 2021 Paulista Championship and the 2023 Copa do Brasil. At Polissya, he played 45 matches, including in the Conference League, scoring one goal in the European competition.

The fact that Costa is a free agent would make a deal easier. Even more so because it is his former club, for which he himself said in a recent interview with the ‘Globo Esporte’ portal that he has special affection. No official negotiations had begun by the time this report was published.

Speaking to the report, a source close to Dorival praised the youngster, highlighting his versatility. He can play as a holding midfielder, a linking midfielder, and even as a central midfielder, helping in both defense and attack. In other words, in this person’s view, he would be a good backup for Marcos Antônio.

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