The Portuguese press continues to struggle for updates on West Ham’s chase for William Carvalho. And the little information the papers have today isn’t really convincing.
Some of the Portuguese newspapers are only covering what’s coming from England. Some say the club gave up on Carvalho to go for Sunderland’s Didier Ndong, and others take Slaven Bilic’s quotes to say the deal is close.
This is all a little strange because it was the Portuguese press who started Carvalho to West Ham, then went really strong with it, and now seem to be at a loss about what, if any, progress there’s been.
The only two with their own information on Friday are A Bola and O Jogo. The first claims the Hammers are finally ready to go to €35m, even though it’s stated their only official offer so far €25m, much lower than thought. Sporting are still demanding €40m, so there’s a lot to talk about before reaching a deal.
O Jogo has a diferent take, saying West Ham won’t pay more than €37m, but Sporting keep pushing for the €45m release clause.
Regardless of the figures, it seems the arm wrestle competition continues. There’s one week left, and unless someone gives in, Carvalho is going nowhere.
In normal circumstances, it would be easy to believe A Bola’s claim that West Ham have only offered €25m, because that would explain why nothing has happened since.
However, Sporting’s president Bruno de Carvalho is notorious for being difficult, not just on transfers but generally, and it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Still, the A Bola €25m claims make more sense than others.
