On deadline day, we covered claims from Denmark that Brighton & Hove Albion were in war with a few clubs to sign Conrad Harder.
Later that day, Tipsbladet stated the Seagulls had made a €20m bid and it was accepted by FC Nordsjælland.
Brighton were still not able to get the deal over the line, and three days later, the 19-year-old completed a permanent move to Sporting.
Rúben Amorim, the Lions manager, has said the striker favoured Sporting over a Premier League side in the summer window. Friday’s edition of Record have relayed his comments and they say Brighton proposed a better deal than the Portuguese club.
Sporting were initially keen on signing Panathinaikos star Fotis Ioannidis. The coach says his side’s failure to sign the 24-year-old Greek saw them shift their focus to Harder. The Lisbon club were able to beat competition from Fabian Hürzeler’s side to sign the Dane.
“We had a plan for a readymade player, and if we couldn’t get Fotis, we had a list of players with potential. And Harder was at the top,” he said.
“We wanted one with similar characteristics to Gyökeres – a second Viktor is impossible – in case something happens to him, so that the team doesn’t have to change characteristics.
“There was an English team [Brighton] that wanted the player, paid more and left him there [Nordsjælland]. It’s a world of difference. We really looked at Harder’s potential.”
The newspaper claims Sporting paid €19m plus €3m as potential bonus payment for the Denmark U19 international.
Brighton offered more than this and were also willing to let Harder return to Nordsjælland on a loan deal until 2025. Despite this, the player opted for the Portuguese club.
