Things have changed a little in the way the Portuguese press is covering West Ham’s chase for Sporting midfielder William Carvalho.
This rumour, just like the majority when involving players from the Portuguese league, started in Portugal and was built with much excitement.
But as soon as things seem to have become intense, English outlets started getting on the money, leaving the Portuguese newspapers a little bored with the situation.
A proof of this is today’s Portuguese newspapers. Four different articles on William, mostly covering reports from England, all with different information.
Starting with A Bola, all they’ve got today is that Sporting are demanding €38m up front. Then they take reports from England saying West Ham were offering €35m, and after doing their maths, there’s a big headline saying that only €3m is separating the clubs from an agreement.
O Jogo read somewhere in the English press that an agreement for the player could be found today, but according to their sources, that’s very unlikely. Especially because there aren’t any offers on the table.
Record confirms the information published by the Sunday Times saying there is an agreement between West Ham and Carvalho, which had already been claimed in Portugal, but Sporting continue demanding €38m + €5m in bonuses and won’t bend. That’s another source saying nothing is happening so soon.
And there’s finally Correio da Manhã, who has an entire page saying West Ham are ready to pay the player’s release clause. But this information comes from Sky Sports, and the newspaper doesn’t have anything new to add to it.
So the Portuguese media is either on the dark or there isn’t anything happening at Sporting’s headquarters.
