Aston Villa’s pursuit of Portuguese winger Pedro Goncalves has hit a roadblock with Sporting CP refusing to budge on their valuation of the player.
Despite already adding the likes of Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen and Samuel Iling-Junior, Unai Emery is keen to strengthen his squad further as he prepares for a shock Champions League campaign.
It’s understood Goncalves has been highlighted as a major target this summer to help replace Moussa Diaby after the French winger left for Saudi side Al-Ittihad.
Goncalves — who played for Wolves between 2017 and 2019 — has been a key player for Sporting over the past four years, notching 79 goals and 52 assists in 180 appearances across all competitions, helping the club win two Primeira Liga titles and a host of cup honours during that time.
“Pote stood out. He was excellent in possession, always able to find space, didn’t misplace passes and had an ability to finish too,” Rui Pedro Silva, the former assistant coach of Nuno Espirito Santo, said of Goncalves during their time together at Wolves (via Goal).
Aston Villa transfer news: Record fee required for Goncalves
With that in mind, it should come as little surprise that Sporting are placing a high price on Goncalves as one of their prized assets.
According to O Jogo (via Give Me Sport), the 20-time Portuguese champions are refusing to budge a penny below Goncalves’ £68.5m release clause, especially since the 26-year-old’s current contract runs until the summer of 2027.
Sporting president Frederico Varandas is apparently ‘putting his foot down’ after allowing fellow winger Issahaku Fatawu to make his loan to Leicester permanent this summer.
The Lisbon side have a Champions League campaign to look forward to and there is little appetite within the club for manager Ruben Amorim to lose any more key players.
Aston Villa broke their transfer record earlier this summer, paying £50m (per BBC Sport) to bring Belgium international midfielder Onana from Everton.
It remains to be seen whether or not the Villans would be willing to break that record again, this time by another £18.5m.
