Sky Sports reported last week that Newcastle were in ‘pole position’ to sign Sporting Lisbon centre-back Ruben Semedo, however news from Portugal today suggests the deal could be becoming slightly more complex.
Firstly, according to A Bola, Sporting have asked for a 50% sell on fee to be included in the deal, and are also demanding €30 million in compensation if Newcastle decide to sell Semedo to one of Lisbon’s Portuguese rivals in the future.
They report that Newcastle had hoped to concluded the £12.5m signing of Semedo this week, but have been knocked back by the Sporting’s latest demands.
Secondly, it is also claimed by A Bola that Southampton will make an official offer for Semedo later this week, with the Saints believed to be willing to meet Lisbon’s €14m valuation – however a 20% sell on fee is mentioned here, not 50%:
Southampton are willing to accept Sporting's €14m price tag(+20% sell-on fee & "anti-rival clause") for centre-back Rúben Semedo. [A Bola] pic.twitter.com/a3iw3ae9Oq
— Jan Hagen (@PortuBall) June 5, 2017
Finally, Villareal are also believed to have entered the race for Semedo’s signature, however it has been said that the La Liga side may struggle to match Newcastle and Southampton financially.
Caito Balde (Semedo’s agent) stated over the weekend that he expect’s his future to be sorted next week, so any potential deal should be made clearer in the coming days.
Semedo is clearly a priority target for Benitez and would represent a real coup for United, however the messier this deal gets, the more likely Newcastle will be to pull out and look elsewhere, with Benitez wanting business done quickly this summer.
