Sporting’s Geny Catamo has been on Aston Villa’s transfer agenda for a while.
Two months ago, claims from Portugal stated the Villans contacted the winger, who knew the salary he would earn if he moved to Villa Park this summer. It was also reported Aston Villa were dithering over whether to pay €30m to sign him.
On Friday, A Bola reported the Premier League side could make a late move for the 24-year-old.
The front page of Saturday’s A Bola says, ‘Aston Villa and Fenerbahçe advance for the Mozambique winger’. It’s to be noted this is a snippet bottom of the front page.
Fenerbahçe initially prioritised signing Benfica’s Kerem Aktürkoğlu and initially offered €22.5m plus €2.5m for him, before revising it to €15m plus €3m bonuses. This would have not pleased the Eagles and the operation for Aktürkoğlu is now said to be off.
The Turkish club have shifted their focus to Catamo and A Bola reports they can advance with a €20m bid. It’s claimed Aston Villa have also offered €20m, of which €2m is in bonuses.
Sporting would say no to both potential offers as they want €25-30m to part ways with the Mozambique international. A Bola’s summary claims the Lions want €25m plus €5m, meaning Monchi will have to raise the overall offer by €10m.
With earlier claims indicating the Villans were dithering about reaching €30m, it remains to be seen whether they’ll return.
Sporting manager Rui Borges was asked on Friday whether there are any bids for Catamo and Conrad Harder.
He said: “They’ve been called up for tomorrow [today], and they’ll have to ask Bernardo [Morais Palmeiro, Sporting’s general director of football] about the rest. My job is to train them and keep them focused for the match against Nacional. I work at a big club, and here, on a daily basis, there’s always going to be talk of signings and signings.”
