Aston Villa and Sunderland may have watched a potential Kevin Viveros deal become considerably more expensive over the past few months.
The Athletico Paranaense striker has continued his remarkable season in Brazil and now has 17 league goals in 25 matches. That form has changed the picture around his future, and Athletico are preparing accordingly.
Sport Witness sources confirmed that Aston Villa and Sunderland were among the Premier League clubs asking questions about Viveros during the summer.
Villa’s interest likely came before they eventually turned to Nicolas Jackson. Sunderland, meanwhile, probably looked at the Colombian as an alternative to Brian Brobbey.
Also, he’d already been monitored by Watford and Bristol City in the first half of the year, but his performances since then have seen him move up a level.
Neither move happened anyway. And now the numbers involved are getting bigger.
Athletico preparing for huge Viveros sale
ESPN Brazil reports Athletico have reached a verbal agreement with Viveros over a new contract. His current deal runs until June 2028, but the Brazilian club want to extend that and give him a pay rise.
There’s a pretty obvious transfer angle to all of this. Athletico know keeping their star striker beyond the end of the year could prove difficult. They therefore want to put themselves in the strongest possible position before another round of approaches arrives.
According to ESPN, they managed to resist Premier League and Saudi interest during the last window. They even rejected offers worth as much as €20m (£17.3m).
Athletico now expect a future transfer to bring them somewhere between €30m (£26m) and €40m (£34.7m).
That’s quite a jump, and Viveros has given them every reason to raise their expectations.
17 goals have changed the picture
When English interest first appeared, Viveros was already having an excellent season. He’s gone up another level since.
The 26-year-old now leads the Brazilian league scoring charts with 17 goals and has become the main man in manager Odair Hellmann’s attack.
His game is built around power and explosiveness. He loves running into space and can beat defenders with his pace, while almost all his best work comes close to goal.
Viveros isn’t really a traditional target man who wants to spend all afternoon holding off centre-backs with his back to goal. He’s much happier playing quickly and attacking space ahead of him.
That helps explain why Sunderland considered him alongside Brobbey for example. It would be a smart alternative.
But there are still areas to improve of course. Hellmann has previously pointed towards his heading and decision-making, particularly knowing when to pass instead of taking another shot.
Those imperfections haven’t stopped the goals. For Aston Villa and Sunderland, the interesting bit now is what happens when the market opens again.
Athletico already turned down €20m (£17.3m). With a new contract coming and their striker still scoring, they’re preparing to ask for considerably more next time.
