In the past few days, we covered reports from Brazil saying Fulham and West Ham United are both interested in São Paulo defender Luizão.
The player’s contract with the Tricolor expires in January, which allows him to already sign a pre-contract with a new club. And since he doesn’t seem keen on signing an extension, a departure is the most likely scenario.
It turns out that São Paulo received a huge unexpected gift this week, which is the news of Antony’s move to Manchester United. Due to their agreement when selling the player to Ajax, they’ll get around €20m from the transfer.
And that, according to new claims in the Brazilian media, could impact the Fulham and West Ham target, as the club may not need to sell Luizão.
“He doesn’t want to, he hasn’t renewed so far. He can sign a pre-contract right now, his contract runs until the end of the year, with another club. So yes, São Paulo either sell now or no longer sell,” said Ribeiro.
“And now, with the Antony issue, São Paulo don’t need to sell. Broke the sales goal with just one.”
It had previously been reported that Fulham even made a bid for Luizão, trying to avoid competition for the signing, and then West Ham’s interest was revealed. Still, São Paulo president Julio Casares insists there’s no bid from any of the clubs so far.
