Sporting Club de Portugal are ‘increasingly convinced’ that Geny Catamo will not be joining Sunderland this summer.
A Bola cover the 25-year-old in their Saturday print edition, and report that Sporting have no intention of letting Catamo leave before the end of the transfer window.
The newspaper explains that while he is being ‘heavily pursued’ by Sunderland – who are ‘threatening’ to make a new bid for him – there is confidence that the deal won’t happen.
Sporting have already rejected a bid of €30m plus €10m in performance-based add-ons. The belief is that Sunderland’s next bid will fall short of the €40m fixed that they want.
Hence, they are confident that the winger will remain where he is, despite the offer of a lucrative four-year contract at the Stadium of Light.
Borges plays down transfer
Record, meanwhile, carry comments from Sporting manager Rui Borges regarding the situation. He has spoken to the winger about the interest. And he insists that Sunderland’s efforts have not turned his player’s head.
“I spoke with Geny just as I did with the others,” he said.
“Sporting players are sought after by various teams, and they have to know how to handle that. Geny has been doing a fantastic job; he’s training very well, playing well, and is completely focused on Sporting.”
Sunderland watching
O Jogo also cover the situation in their Saturday edition, stating that Sunderland are ‘keeping a close eye’ on the situation. They report that a bid worth €33m plus €7m was rejected, so slightly different to A Bola.
That is a bid which does not meet Sporting’s demands for the winger. They are reluctant to lose someone who is a ‘decisive player’ for them. O Jogo state Sporting don’t want to sanction a deal despite Geny Catamo being ‘very keen’ on the switch.
They also cover extra comments from Borges, who was busy downplaying the situation in his pre-match press conference.
£As a coach, I also need to maintain a sense of balance and help foster that balance – emotional balance, above all,” he added.
“Not just for Geny, but for everyone. Just this week, according to the news, another 10 players had supposedly joined Sporting and four or five had left. That’s the market at work.”
