Despite the initial optimism from the Portuguese media about West Brom’s chase for Sporting midfielder Matheus Pereira, it seems the situation is a little more complicated now.
Newspaper Record reports today that Schalke 04 have also made an approach to know the conditions to sign the player, representing some competition for the Baggies.
Record claims that West Brom’s offer is ‘far from the demands made by Sporting’, so the competition from Schalke will certainly force the Championship side to improve their conditions.
Pereira has some experience in German football since he played for Nuremberg on loan last season, but it’s not clear if that would be a factor for him to choose Schalke over the Baggies.
Meanwhile, newspaper O Jogo goes further, claiming that Schalke have already made an offer, and the buying option included in the deal will be negotiated soon.
O Jogo doesn’t even mention West Brom in their story, so perhaps the Baggies are being left behind in this race.
