Newcastle United now appear to have moved into pole position for Danilo Santos. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s brief links to the Botafogo midfielder are already being played down in Brazil.
After weeks of interest from across the Premier League, the picture surrounding the Brazil international is finally becoming clearer.
Reports from Botafogo insiders over the weekend suggested Newcastle have stepped up their pursuit. In addition, Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola insists Chelsea were never seriously in the race despite recent speculation.
Newcastle talks moving forward
According to the local reports, Botafogo are now in advanced discussions with Newcastle. They are waiting for an official offer to arrive.
The expectation is that formal negotiations could begin shortly, with the figures already discussed said to be close to what Botafogo are now willing to accept.
At the time, Botafogo were hoping Danilo’s performances for Brazil would push his valuation towards €40m (£34m). Instead, after a tournament in which Carlo Ancelotti used him only sparingly, the anticipated jump in value never materialised.
According to Nicola, Botafogo have now adjusted their expectations. They would be prepared to complete a deal in the region of €30m (£26m). That figure suddenly looks much more achievable for Newcastle.
Chelsea links quickly cool
The Chelsea story appears to have gone in the opposite direction. After reports emerged suggesting the Blues had entered the race following Andrey Santos’ move to Manchester United, Jorge Nicola claims there is actually no genuine interest from Stamford Bridge.
“It’s safe to say that if Danilo goes to the Premier League, he’ll go to a club other than Chelsea”, he said.
Instead, he says Danilo Santos’ name was proposed to Chelsea by super-agent Kia Joorabchian, who has a relationship with the midfielder’s representative Giuliano Bertolucci.
“What I can tell you is that Kia [Joorabchian], who has a relationship with Danilo’s agent, was the one who tried to suggest it. He is the one who tried to make this deal between Danilo and Chelsea move forward. But there is no interest from the English club”, he concluded.
Newcastle remain best placed
Everything now points back towards Newcastle. The Magpies have already been linked with Danilo Santosas a possible successor to Bruno Guimarães should he complete a move to Arsenal.
Also, recent reports suggest that internal interest has now developed into concrete discussions with Botafogo.
That does not guarantee a transfer. An official offer is still required of course. But compared to where this story stood just a few days ago, Newcastle now appear to be well further down the road than any other English club. And the conditions for an agreement suddenly look more favourable than they did earlier in the summer.