Earlier today, we covered reports from the Portuguese media saying Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are fighting for the signing of Sporting midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
It was claimed by newspaper A Bola that Villa and Spurs are battling ‘shoulder to shoulder’ to sign the 22-year-old.
It turns out that as newspaper Record writes about the potential departures at Sporting this summer, they speak of Aston Villa and Tottenham racing for another player from the Lions.
That’s Pedro Gonçalves, better known as Pote, who had another great season at the club, with 20 goals and 12 assists.
The outlet writes that the market’s attention for him is ‘guaranteed’, saying it’s ‘known’ that both Aston Villa and Tottenham are willing to ‘take a step ahead’.
Record mention there’s a little ‘problem’ with this sale, and that’s the 50% share of the player that his former club Famalicão keep.
With Sporting only getting half of a transfer amount, it becomes difficult to convince them to sell him for a reasonable price. That’s why Pote’s €80m release clause should be mentioned in the talks with any interested club.
