Sporting respond to Tottenham’s opening £29m bid for Chelsea target Pedro Porro
Sporting have rebuffed Tottenham’s opening offer for defender Pedro Porro and the two clubs are still a long way apart in their valuation of the Spaniard, according to reports.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte is desperate to bring in a new right wing-back this month and has identified the 23-year-old as the ideal addition, having faced off twice against him in the Champions League this season.
Tottenham are not the only club interested, however, with Chelsea also keeping tabs on Porro as they look to bring in cover and competition for the injury-plagued Reece James.
Sporting have always maintained that they will only allow Porro to leave in January if his €45million (£39.5m) release clause is paid in full and reiterated that stance in talks with Spurs this week.
According to Portuguese newspaper Record, Tottenham met with their Sporting counterparts and made an opening offer worth £29m plus bonuses.
That is around £10m short of Sporting’s asking price, but Spurs had hoped that the inclusion of a number of performance-related add-ons would be enough to cover the difference.
But Sporting are still insistent that the former Manchester City player can only leave if his release clause is paid in full and have rejected Tottenham’s offer.
With the two clubs still locked in a stalemate, the transfer saga looks set to run until the end of the window – while it also gives Chelsea the opportunity to make a bid of their own.
Conte is said to be ‘putting pressure’ on Tottenham’s board to try and secure a deal for Porro as soon as possible, with the Italian keen to bring in three players this month.
In addition to a new right wing-back, the former Inter Milan boss also wants to sign a creative central midfielder and a left winger.
On Porro’s part, the Spaniard is keen to test himself in the Premier League and would jump at the chance to join Spurs, though he is committed to Sporting and will not force a move.
Discussing Porro’s future, Sporting manager Ruben Amorim said: ‘Pedro’s future will always be a big club, but he’s already at a big club. He is happy at Sporting, but when the market is open and there are clubs making proposals… of course that affects the players.’
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