Sporting’s chase for Brighton & Hove Albion fullback Tariq Lamptey always seemed like a tough mission for the Lions, and it seems they may be ready to give up on that operation.
Portuguese outlet O Jogo today writes that the Lions are now targeting another right-back, and that’s AZ Alkmaar’s Yukinari Sugawara.
The player is said to have a price tag worth €8.5m, making him a much cheaper signing than Lamptey.
The problem is that because of the Seagulls’ requests, Lamptey is claimed to be ‘unreachable’.
Even though the Englishman is out of Roberto De Zerbi’s plans, Brighton only want to negotiate him on a permanent deal and use the money to reinvest in the squad.
Sporting don’t want to pay the €15m requested for him, and that’s why the chase has gone cold. It’s said the Lions will play a ‘waiting game’ and see if the price goes down. But since there are Premier League sides interested in Lamptey, that pursuit is only getting harder.
