Jonathan Calleri is back. Tottenham Hotspur fans may well remember the name, because in May of this year it was claimed a deal was agreed for him to move to Spurs.
Playing in Brazil for Sao Paulo, the Argentine striker is always in the rumour mill, and in May his father was said to have told the club’s board a move to Tottenham was agreed.
In June there were further Tottenham claims, we covered a report stating Spurs were set to make a bid for the player.
Calleri belongs to Maldonado, a Uruguayan club who are used as an investment fund by the Figer Group. They signed the player from Boca Juniors for €11m in January and immediately sent him on loan to Sao Paulo.
On Friday, Estadio Deportivo report links with Sevilla. Calleri is now expected to leave his loan club after they were knocked out of the Copa Libertadores.
The 22 year well and truly let the cat out of the bag when, after the defeat, he told Tyc Sports that he was upset this was how his transfer would happen, leaving after a defeat rather than a trophy win.
Now there’s no mention of Tottenham (although that may return), but West Ham are said to be closing in on Calleri. After Spurs bought Vincent Janssen, there doesn’t really seem much need for another young striker.
A work permit may well be a problem, Calleri has been trying to get himself an EU passport for some months, but so far hasn’t been able to. He has Italian ancestry so is still hopeful.