The Alberto Costa transfer tussle has turned into something of a drama this week in Portugal, with Brighton & Hove Albion causing problems for Sporting CP’s pursuit of the right-back.
As far as the Portuguese press has it, 21-year-old Alberto Costa would prefer to join Sporting. His agent, Miguel Pinho, is said to have already informed Brighton of this… at least according to some of the Portuguese sources.
The decision is nothing against Brighton, it’s just encouraged by a belief that the fullback could quickly grow and become a star at Sporting like others have before him.
Viktor Gyökeres is being increasingly used as an example of that, but it’s worth mentioning Bruno Fernandes here. The Manchester United player is Pinho’s brother-in-law and helped launch him as an agent.
Therefore, Pinho knows how shining for Sporting can lead to a huge transfer, and he’ll also have great connections at the Lisbon club. That may be what is actually helping to swing it against Brighton.
Anyway, the Seagulls have offered Vitória de Guimarães €12m plus a potential further €2m in bonus payments. Sporting are offering a little less and, perhaps crucially, their payment terms are not as good as Brighton’s.
Saturday’s edition of Correio da Manhã reports Vitória want at least €10m, and it sounds like they require that upfront, or at least help with the financing to get an advance on the money.
O Jogo are again much more confident on behalf of Sporting and claim Alberto Costa’s move there is ‘close to completion’. The two clubs are said to be discussing the payment method, with Vitória wanting it in ‘cash’ and Sporting wanting staged payments.
Interestingly, O Jogo add that another reason the right-back prefers Sporting is that he believes he can reach Portugal’s national squad quicker that way.
