Primeira Liga giants Sporting Lisbon won’t let Rodrigo Battaglia leave without a fight as West Bromwich Albion make opening bid.
Signing from Braga last summer for just £3.9 million, Rodrigo Battaglia is looking like an excellent investment by Sporting Lisbon.
Because, just a few months later, the Portuguese giants are fielding huge offers for the Argentine midfielder. A Bola’s front page (16th December) reports that West Brom have offered £13 million for Battaglia – but will have to pay far more to bring him to the Premier League.
It is understood that Battaglia has a contract with Sporting until 2022, complete with a release clause of £52.9 million. Jorge Jesus’ side, however, are open to offers of around £22 million – which would still earn the club quite the impressive profit.
Whether West Brom would be willing to pay such a fee remains to be seen. Director of Football Richard Garlick warned that the Baggies had to be mindful of Financial Fair Play limitations, as reported by The Sun, meaning a club-record deal may be beyond their budget in this transfer window.
Nacer Chadli is currently the most expensive player in the club’s history, joining from Tottenham for £13 million in the summer of 2016, according to Sky Sports.
But if West Brom were to sign Battaglia, they would be getting a tenacious and technically gifted defensive midfielder and a possible replacement for the underwhelming Grzegorz Krychowiak when he returns to PSG at the end of his loan spell.
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