Timothy Rogers/Getty Images
Sporting Lisbon look set to win the race for Newcastle United and Everton target Issa Doumbia, as they are ‘finalising’ the midfielder’s move in the coming hours.
The Treviglio-born talent began his senior football with lower league Italian club AlbinoLeffe, where he made 82 appearances.
His pedigree caught Venezia’s eyes when they were in Serie A and they signed him on a five-year deal in the summer of 2024.
The Leo Alati got relegated in the 2024/25 season and have achieved automatic promotion from the Italian second tier to confirm their return to the Italian top-flight.
Venezia won Serie B and the Italy Under-21 international played a key part in the impressive season.
Doumbia contributed to 16 goals directly in 38 games across all competitions, and Premier League pair, in the shape of Everton and Newcastle, showed interest, something which was claimed to be worrying Sporting Lisbon.
However, the Italian midfielder prefers a move to Portugal, where Sporting Lisbon and Benfica are his top admirers.
Star Country
Maxi Araujo Uruguay
Luis Guilherme Brazil
Diego Callai Brazil
Luis Suarez Colombia
It was suggested that Venezia and Sporting Lisbon had a meeting scheduled on Tuesday night to accelerate Doumbia’s potential move to Portugal.
Now it looks like Leoes are winning the race for the Leo Alati star, as Sporting Lisbon are ‘finalising’ the midfielder’s deal, according to Italian journalist Marco Conterio.
And it has been suggested that the Liga Portugal giants are set to pay a hefty €25m for Doumbia.
Everton and Newcastle will now be missing out on the midfielder, despite having shown clear interest in signing him.
The Premier League pair could still nick European qualification for next season on the final matchday of the season, and they are likely to wait for their campaign to conclude before they take key decisions regarding next summer’s recruitment.
That may have put them at a disadvantage in the Doumbia chase.
Both Aston Villa and Wolves were keen on the 22-year-old Italian last summer, but Venezia deemed him ‘non-transferable’.
Doumbia’s move to Sporting Lisbon looks like a matter of time for now, but Everton and Newcastle could still monitor his progress in Portugal ahead of another move in the future.