Aston Villa and West Ham United are back in a chase for Sporting star Pedro Gonçalves, according to claims from Portugal today.
Newspaper O Jogo reports that the form shown by the midfielder in the past few games has reawakened interest from Premier League clubs.
It’s recalled that Aston Villa and West Ham had an ‘old’ interest in the 25-year-old, who’s sometimes known as Pote, and were convinced again by his recent performances.
O Jogo claims that the two clubs have been sending ‘insistent’ questions to the midfielder’s agents about his situation, and are aware of how difficult the signing will be.
Pote is protected by an €80m release clause, and Sporting have been saying that they’re not letting any of their stars go in the middle of the season, meaning that amount would have to be paid for a January move.
The newspaper doesn’t seem to have any information on how much Aston Villa and West Ham would like to pay for that signing, despite claiming there are ‘alarm bells ringing’ at the Portuguese side.
Pote has 10 goals and nine assists in 29 appearances, and his numbers would be more impressive if he hadn’t been playing in a deeper role in midfield in the past few weeks.
