On Tuesday Portuguese newspaper A Bola launched (or re-launched) William Carvalho to Liverpool. It was claimed that whilst Liverpool representatives spoke to Sporting to sort out Lazar Markovic’s situation, they also tried to sign Carvalho.
The price Sporting were looking at was put at a minimum of €30m on Tuesday… well things have quickly changed.
In their Wednesday edition, A Bola say Carvalho will only go for €40m, with €35m plus €5m in bonuses considered possible.
It’s an increase of €10m in a day for Liverpool, which may question the accuracy of A Bola’s claims (there have been many claimed asking prices over the past year), but could also, or instead, have something to do with Goncalo Guedes.
Sporting’s fierce rivals Benfica have sold Goncalo Guedes to PSG for around €30m, and the leoes president Bruno De Carvalho will want to get more for a player considered more established.
There are several factors at play which could drive up or down Carvalho’s price for Liverpool. Firstly, Sporting need money, something again pointed out by A Bola, and that would put pressure on the club to accept a reasonable offer from Liverpool.
Sporting are fourth in the Portuguese league, their title hopes almost certainly gone. Their aims for the season slipped away, and therefore they don’t need to keep Carvalho for a title challenge. The club finished bottom of their Champions League group, so there’s no European football either.
What goes against a good price for Liverpool is the Guedes situation, and Sporting’s president wanting to look strong. Amid the current crisis, Bruno De Carvalho can hardly upset fans by selling a player on the cheap. There’s also upcoming presidential elections, which will have an impact on the thinking.
As we explained on Tuesday, Liverpool would need to build an offer which Sporting and Bruno De Carvalho could present as a win. If the headline figure is large enough, even if some of the bonuses look almost impossible to trigger, then Liverpool should be able to get the €35m down.
Jurgen Klopp needs to make a decision on how much he wants William Carvalho, and then send Liverpool’s best negotiators off to massage Sporting’s ego and build a deal which works for everyone.
It’s worth pointing out that every window for the past couple of years Carvalho has been linked with a move to the Premier League, and nothing come of it.
