Francisco Trincão
Francisco Trincão
Manchester City and Tottenham have emerged as fresh Premier League options for Francisco Trincão. This comes just as the Sporting attacker pauses over what looked like a likely move to Saudi Arabia.
For the past few days, Portuguese reports have painted Al Ahli as the club best placed to sign the 26-year-old, with Sporting open to a deal worth around €50m (£42.1m) and the Saudi side prepared to quadruple the player’s current €2.5m net annual salary.
Now, however, Portuguese newspaper Record report Trincão has decided to slow things down.
Rather than immediately accepting the Saudi proposal, the Portugal international wants a few days to consider his future following their World Cup exit. Meanwhile, the possibility of remaining in Europe is still very much alive.
City waiting on Savinho
According to Record, Manchester City are one of the clubs monitoring the situation.
The newspaper claims new manager Enzo Maresca is an admirer of Trincão’s profile, while sporting director Hugo Viana already knows the winger inside out from their successful spell together at Sporting.
Manchester City’s interest comes with an important caveat, though. Record state the Premier League runners-up will only consider making a move if Savinho leaves this summer. Until that happens, Trincão is not expected to become an active target.
Funny enough, Spurs are exactly the club most heavily linked with Savinho in recent months.
Tottenham see tactical fit
Tottenham’s situation appears more immediate. According to the Portuguese newspaper, Spurs believe Trincão could offer competition for Mohammed Kudus on the right. Additionally, he could provide cover as a central attacking midfielder.
That versatility is particularly attractive given Xavi Simons is expected to remain sidelined until February through injury. Meanwhile, James Maddison is still recovering from a lengthy absence.
In the meantime, Al Ahli are already prepared to pay €50m (£42.1m). So the Lisbon club will expect any Premier League side to match that valuation if Trincão is to stay in Europe.
Given Jorge Mendes’ involvement though, there is always the possibility that publicising interest from City and Tottenham forms part of the negotiation to push Al Ahli towards an improved salary package.
The Saudi offer therefore remains the benchmark. Whether Manchester City or Tottenham are prepared to reach it is likely to determine where Trincão plays his football next season.
Francisco Trincão transfer situation
The Sporting player has been linked with an exit for months
Liverpool have also had their name thrown in recently
An attempt to stir up wider interest, or get more Saudi money, is clear
26-year-old has contract until 2030