Clayton to Sporting? Lions make final decision on Rio Ave striker | OneFootball

Sporting will not proceed with the signing of Clayton, Leonino has learned. Despite the already known interest of the lions in the Rio Ave player, with the possible departure of Conrad Harder from Alvalade, the green and white structure decided how to act in relation to the Brazilian, as our newspaper advances in this Exclusive.

The reasons for this stance by the Alvalade Club are clear: the emblem of Vila do Conde is asking for about 15 million euros, a value that the lion officials consider too high for the canary attacker, who is already 26 years old.

At this time, Fotis Ioannidis ends up being the only option for Sporting to reinforce Rui Borges' team. However, negotiations with Panathinaikos are encountering many difficulties and, if it does not happen, Harder may continue in Alvalade until the end of the season.

It is worth remembering that, in addition to Sporting, Porto, Benfica, Torino and Zenit are also interested in signing the Rio Ave forward. The emblem of the city of Saint Petersburg made an approach to the SAD of Vila do Conde in the amount of 10 million euros, which was rejected. The northern club has defined that it only intends to negotiate the Brazilian striker for higher numbers.

In the 2024/25 season, with the Rio Ave jersey, Clayton - valued at 5 million euros - scored 18 goals and two assists, in 37 games. The 14 accurate shots he achieved in the championship placed him in fourth place in the list of top scorers in the competition. This season, he has three goals and one assist in just two matches played.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.