Pedro Porro would be a ‘giant’ loss for Sporting Lisbon as Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur look to bring the former Manchester City starlet back to the Premier League, former presidential candidate Ricardo Oliveira tells Bola Branca.
Unfortunately for Spurs, Sporting have already gone some way to keeping the proverbial wolf from the door, selling two star players to Premier League clubs during the summer transfer window.
Joao Palhinha joined Fulham over the summer, before Matheus Nunes became Wolves’ record signing. Two deals which earned the 2021 Portuguese champions a windfall in the region of £50 million.
As such, Sporting are under no immediate pressure to sell Pedro Porro for less than his £40 million release clause (A Bola).
Tottenham remain intent on adding the Spain international to Conte’s stuttering squad before the month is out; a new round of talks scheduled. But both parties, A Bola adds, remain far apart as the window enters it’s final fortnight, despite claims from The Mirror that Porro has already ‘agreed’ to join the London giants.
Tottenham Hotspur still hope to sign Pedro Porro from Sporting Lisbon
Porro, in 23 games, has 10 assists and two goals this season. And Oliveira, who ran for presidency of the Lisbon giants last year, believes Sporting would be hard pressed to find a replacement of similar quality.
“It would be very difficult for supporters to believe that Sporting can climb up the table after Porro’s departure,” Oliveira claims. “Pedro Porro would be a giant casualty.”
Sky Sports reported back in December 2021 that Sporting Lisbon were facing a potential exclusion from UEFA competition due to their ‘unpaid debts’. And Oliveira admits that he is ‘very concerned’ about the situation; highlighting the devastating impact missing out on the Champions League could have on Sporting’s revenue.
“We will return to the Sporting of a few years ago. A Sporting with many difficulties in competing, because it does not have the necessary means,” Oliveira adds. “It will have even greater financial difficulties.”
Pedro Porro is one of Europe’s finest wing-backs
Porro, arguably the brightest spark in a difficult season for fourth-place Sporting, is Tottenham’s number one target to replace the much-maligned Emerson Royal and Matt Doherty on the right-hand side of Conte’s five-man backline.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” Sporting coach Ruben Amorim insists. “(But) we have to be aware of the moment of the club. We’re growing as a league. We are not as attractive a league as others, and we cannot pay certain wages. We have this difficulty.
“When we lose a player, we have to receive money to rebuild the machine. We know the amount of attacks that go through Porro and Marcus (Edwards, also linked with a move away). Nobody is blind here. But the market is how it is. As has been said, they only leave through the (release) clause.
“They are very happy at Sporting.”
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