Tottenham Hotspur are starting to win round some members of the Sporting CP hierarchy in their pursuit of Pedro Porro, according to a new report.
Tottenham have been told repeatedly by Sporting that Porro will only be allowed to leave if his release clause is met, as reported by The Athletic, however they have so far been unwilling to meet this condition, and talks have stalled.
While Fabrizio Romano has made it clear that the Spaniard is Spurs’ ‘priority’ in the January transfer window, there has been some recent talk about the club instead going in for Denzel Dumfries, but a new report appears to suggest progress is now being made.
According to a update from 90min, Spurs have remained in talks with Sporting, and are suggesting that they pay the €45m (£40m) release clause in instalments, rather than as one lump sum.
90min claim that some within the hierarchy at the Portuguese club would be willing to accept this form of payment, however others remain opposed to it, including head coach Ruben Amorim.
TIF thoughts on Porro to Tottenham…
Hailed as ‘incredible’ by members of the media, the 23-year-old is the attacking right wing-back that Antonio Conte needs, displaying his prowess going forward by averaging 4.46 shot-creating actions per 90 in the past year, in the 99th percentile compared to other full-backs.
In the 1-1 draw between Spurs and Sporting at the back end of October, the former Manchester City man also exhibited his defensive qualities, making two interceptions, the joint-highest amount of any player, while he again impressed going forward, creating one big chance.
Chelsea are also believed to have made Porro a ‘priority’ target, according to journalist Simon Phillips, and so Tottenham should move swiftly to finalise negotiations before the Blues hijack the move, like they did to Arsenal in the deal for Mykhaylo Mudryk earlier this week.