Despite a strange Portuguese article saying West Ham have switched their attention from William Carvalho to Adrien Silva and Palhinha, most Portuguese newspapers say the first plan is still on, and there even a few updates today.
The most interesting story comes from Record, who claim Carvalho’s agent Pere Guardiola has met Sporting twice in the past few days.
Guardiola spoke first to club president Bruno de Carvalho, and then to directors André Geraldes and Guilherme Pinheiro.
But the negotiations haven’t been successful yet. The player already has a personal agreement with West Ham, but the clubs still struggle to find a deal.
West Ham recently offered €32m, and will soon make a bid of €35m +5m, but Record say Sporting now demand €38m as a straight fee and a further €5m in bonuses.
O Jogo claims there are two things stopping the deal for now. Firstly, because it’s still not clear who will pay for the agent commissions, and secondly, because Sporting want to make €37m from the sale, that would force West Ham to spend a bit more.
There’s also the issue that West Ham want to pay the fee over two years, and Sporting want it all in one go. Despite these disagreements, the player is still waiting for authorisation so he can fly to London.
In a press conference yesterday, manager Jorge Jesus was obviously asked about the transfer, and mentioned West Ham’s game against Manchester United, in which the London side were thrashed 4-0.
“You either know more than me or… so I don’t have an answer to give you. Still today, he worked with me normally and he isn’t in the squad because he can’t play. We know he’s a wanted player, he has a market value and the team they’re saying… Well, yesterday, I watched their last game and he will have some difficulty (laughs). I don’t have any info from the president saying some club won the race.”
