Ferraresi shines under Crespo, draws European interest | OneFootball

Venezuelan in a current Brasileirão match: solidity and prominence (Victor Monteiro)

RAFAEL EMILIANO@rafaelemilianoo

The backstage of São Paulo has been one of resilience after the staff of defender Ferraresi communicated that European clubs have shown interest in signing the Venezuelan.

The reason is quite simple: the 26-year-old player, established as an absolute starter in the tricolor defense and his national team, has never hidden from the directors his desire to return to the Old Continent, from where he was signed by the City Group in 2022, initially on loan (he was at Estoril, Portugal).

Until then, in the last transfer windows, some of them when he was not in high demand within the squad, Ferraresi had received inquiries from Argentine, Mexican, and US teams, which did not interest him. There was a promise to his agents that European offers, however, would be considered carefully.

The names of the potential interested parties in the Venezuelan were not revealed to AVANTE MEU TRICOLOR, but hints suggest they are second-tier clubs from France and Italy.

Even though São Paulo is in need of money, the club understands the interest in two ways. In a more practical sense, it wants to profit from the approximately R$ 20 million invested in the player's permanent signing in 2024.

On the other hand, more complicatedly, there is a notorious shortage in the squad for the defensive sector. With Hernán Crespo using three defenders, the club understands that the five current available names are the limit. And there would not be enough time (or money) for a replacement of equal quality (the window closes next Tuesday, on September 2).

Sources consulted for the report state that the player was informed that the plans are to keep him, and he did not oppose. Aware of his importance, the good moment he is experiencing, and that at this pace of performances he might attract even better opportunities, Ferraresi asked his agents to slow down the interest.

A wise decision, considering that the Venezuelan has become, according to statistics, the best defender in Brazil since Crespo's arrival (an irony, since with his predecessor Luis Zubeldía he played more as a right-back).

Since the return of the Brazilian Championship after the Club World Cup break, Ferraresi is the only player with more than 40 tackles made in the competition (43!).

His performance is so impressive in this aspect that he appears six times in the list of the top ten records for tackles in a single game of the current Brasileirão (occupying second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth positions). All games played after Crespo's arrival (Internacional, Atlético-MG, Fluminense, and Corinthians, respectively, in the top five).

Considering the entire Brasileirão, from the beginning, the Venezuelan is in second place for tackles, with 54 in total, only behind his teammate Enzo Díaz, who has made 56 such actions.

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