New Vasco de Gama sporting director Adamar Lopes has insisted that they are hoping for positive news about the permanent signing of Philippe Coutinho in the coming days.
UOL cover comments from him made yesterday, when he was officially presented as the club’s new director of football.
The Brazilian side are currently focused on working out a deal for Coutinho, who has been on loan with them from Aston Villa this season. That loan deal expires at the end of this month.
Coutinho, Vasco and Aston Villa are keen to work out a deal for him to remain in Brazil, but the current loan does not include a purchase option.
That’s led to negotiations over what happens next, with it even mooted that Coutinho will cancel his contract at Aston Villa, which runs until next summer, and then join Vasco on a free transfer.
Those negotiations have been steadily progressing, with various reports in Brazil stating that an announcement was expected soon. All parties want something in place before the loan move from Aston Villa expires at the end of the month.
Lopes has now continued the positive updates, insisting that he’s hopeful something will be done in the coming days.
“It was very clear that this is a responsible board,” he said.
“From the first day they explained the complex financial situation that Vasco is going through. We have to reduce the payroll, but we believe that it will be possible to bring in new players to strengthen the squad.
“We have opened talks regarding the renewal of the two players (Leo Jardim and Coutinho). There is great interest from Vasco and the coach in continuing. There are proposals on the table and in the next few days we may have news regarding both cases.”
