With the January window now open, there was no way the William Carvalho rumour wouldn’t come back to life, was there?
Portuguese outlet Record started the year with a long interview with Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho. Besides the cover, the chat took the first eight pages of the newspaper, with the official having a lot to say about the club’s past and future.
Record obviously asked him about transfers, and William Carvalho just couldn’t be forgotten. Especially after the failed move to West Ham in the summer window, the midfielder keeps being linked to a departure.
West Ham and Sporting getting their relationship back on track has only helped the rumours, and now there’s an answer.
The dialogue between Record and Bruno de Carvalho about William went as follows:
Record: Bryan Ruiz was reintegrated aftera joint decision from the administration and the manager. Is he a player to keep until the end of the season or can he leave in January if a bid comes up?
Bruno de Carvalho: Our idea will be to keep. But that’s what I say: these things about the market you never know.
Record: And William…
BdC: (Interrupts) Forget!
Record: This rapprochement of relations with West Ham was soon linked to the matter of a possible transfer.
BdC: But no… It was badly linked.
Record: Untransferable in January?
BdC: Untransferable in January.
Record: You revealed that William’s father “went all excited” at the club on the last day of the market to announce that two bids would arrive. You said that one day you would tell what he said: is this day today?
BdC: Not worth it. The reality is that the bids did not arrive. And at the moment I think William doesn’t deserve me to talk about it. William is having a very professional attitude, an attitude of tremendous maturity. He is a very important player, not only with regard to the sporting part but also to the part of the dressing room. And he doesn’t deserve that a nonsense that he didn’t do is more talked about.
Record: You said that Adrien left at the right time. Every year it’s said that William would like to go to England… What then is the right time for him to leave?
BdC: Presidents must have a strategic vision. But strategy also has a lot to do with what’s going on. Let’s draw paths…
Record: Does it have to do with such a balance between the wishes of the player and the wishes of the club?
BdC: Everything will depend on the results and on what we get or not, in the face of these results, in terms of total player-club balance. If we can, maybe. If we can’t, we can’t. Now, we have these plans, we have. We must have when, if one day William is to leave, whenever it may be, if in a year, if in two, if in 20, we must ensure that the sporting part is not called into question.
Record: Are there any interested?
BdC: Absolutely. Now, I also say that I’d like to see him leaving one day to a club of great, great size. Because I think for William to leave it has to be for one at least of the size of Sporting.
Maybe this last sentence makes clear president believes West Ham are no bigger than Sporting, and that would be a very Bruno de Carvalho thing to say.
