Sporting narrows shortlist, Hjulmand successor from these two | OneFootball

Sporting are putting the finishing touches on a major overhaul of their midfield for the 2026/27 season. After the arrivals of Rodrigo Zalazar, Pedro Lima, Issa Doumbia and Silas Andersen, the Lions are still looking for a midfielder for the deepest role, at a time when Morita left at the end of his contract, Morten Hjulmand has an agreement in place to leave Alvalade, Daniel Bragança has yet to renew, and Giorgi Kochorashvili failed to convince in his debut season.

remains the top target of the structure led by Frederico Varandas. The Portugal international is open to a return to Sporting, largely for family reasons, and is even willing to take a pay cut from what he currently earns. However, the main obstacle remains Bayern Munich, who invested €51 million in his signing and are still looking to recover a significant part of that amount.

In addition, Tottenham remain attentive to the midfielder’s situation after the season in which the Portuguese player represented the London club on loan. Despite the English competition, Sporting’s officials believe Palhinha’s desire could be a decisive factor if negotiations move into a more concrete phase.

The strongest alternative remains Sergi Altimira. The Spanish midfielder is highly rated at Alvalade and appears to be a potentially more affordable deal, since Betis are willing to negotiate the player’s sale. Even so, the Spaniards are asking for figures close to €20 million and face competition from RB Leipzig.

Sporting want to quickly wrap up their final midfield signing and decide who will be Hjulmand’s successor in the most important position in the centre of the pitch.

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