It’s now A Bola who make the claims, saying the player has convinced the manager and the board he’s worth the price.
Coates has been on loan at Sporting since January. The Lions could have bought him during the summer, but chose to extend the deal for a further year instead.
Now they have until June to activate a €5m clause and have the player for good, although according to O Jogo this weekend, a personal agreement is still to be reached.
Despite not being able to impress at Liverpool or Sunderland, Coates has ended up becoming an important part of Sporting’s squad, where he didn’t take long to win a place in the starting team.
The central defender has scored three goals in nine matches this season, making him an important attacking option as well.
