Just a couple of days ago, it really seemed like Pedro Porro’s loan from Manchester City to Sporting was guaranteed, given the confidence from the Portuguese reports.
But things have been changing a little in the past 48 hours. It started yesterday, with claims sending the transfer would depend on the Lions’ direct spot in the Europa League.
Now newspaper O Jogo brings one more story on the situation, this time claiming Sporting will have some competition from Spain for this signing.
They write that Real Betis, who were already interested in the signing of Porro, are now back in the race for him.
The Manchester City fullback is Spanish, spent the last season on loan at Real Valladolid, and would rather stay in his home country, which immediately gives Betis the advantage.
According to O Jogo, Sporting president Frederico Varandas is still confident they’ll get the player, and believes that that all parties will stand by their word.
But he’s also waiting for the club to guarantee their place in the Europa League group stage before closing the deal. So this is clearly an issue that will weigh on the player’s decision.
Claims from Portugal say Sporting would like to include a buying option in the deal, but Manchester City still believe they’ll use Porro in the future, and rejected that option.
