Back on Tuesday, Portuguese newspaper Record brought a front page claiming João Palhinha could leave Sporting in the coming days, as there have been movements in the transfer market for his departure.
Now the outlet is back with an update today, once again claiming the Lions are aware of the ‘exploratory contacts’ that have been going on between intermediaries.
Record says there are two potential destinations for Palhinha. One is the Premier League, where Manchester United and Newcastle United have him ‘well referenced’, and the other is La Liga, as Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are interested as well.
Sporting are said to be ‘in the expectation’ of an official bid until the end of the week, and negotiations should take place in case the offers are of above €30m.
Despite repeatedly mentioning the interest from Manchester United, Newcastle and others, Record doesn’t seem to have a clear idea of who’s actually placing a bid for the midfielder.It’s claimed there are ‘several agents’ working on this operation and bring an offer which can convince Sporting, as ‘the proposal is taking shape’ for now.
That’s a big sign that Palhinha is for up sale, and it’s now a matter of finding out how Manchester United or Newcastle United actually want him, bearing in mind that the Magpies are targeting Bruno Guimarães.
