We all know the Portuguese press has been constantly linking William Carvalho to several English clubs for years. So now that something seems to be really happening, it’s obviously a huge deal for the local papers.
On Thursday, four different newspapers have articles about the player and West Ham’s interest. There’s so much information we’ll have to cover one by one.
First there’s A Bola, saying Sporting will only sell Carvalho, to West Ham or anyone else, after the Champions League playoffs. They claim Juventus are still leading the race, and only covered West Ham’s approach as something originating in England.
According to A Bola, the player is only leaving for €35m.
Then we have O Jogo. They say West Ham, via intermediaries, are trying to convince the Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho to accept a €25m offer, but he wants €35m.
They cover the English claims which say West Ham were preparing a bid of £25m, but they stand by information saying the offer has already been made, and that offer was apparently in Euros.
Now we get to Record, with different take. They say West Ham actually offered €30m plus €10m in bonuses, but Sporting are demanding the €40m up front.
The Hammers’ bid would be €30m upfront plus €5m in easy performance bonuses and other €5m in some ‘complicated’ goals for the player to achieve.
West Ham would have also offered Sporting 5% of a future sale. But it still wasn’t enough to convince Bruno de Carvalho to sell, despite being considered close to what they want.
Finally, there’s Correio da Manhã. They cover the English press reports of a £25m West Ham bid, and stand by their own Wednesday report, which said William was definitely heading to the Premier League. This time, they say the deal should be done in the ‘next few days’.
What can we take from all this? First, the Portuguese newspapers definitely have different sources on the matter, since the stories are all so distinct. But there’s also something going on, as we can see them all reporting the negotiations on the same morning.
Sporting are hard to negotiate with and aren’t afraid of turning down big bids. So unless West Ham are really in for the player and willing to raise their offer, the time for celebration isn’t now.
