Sridhar Bhamidi
Sometimes I wonder if it is the agents who drum up the rumour mills to spice up interest in their clients and get a good deal for them. For a long time now, Manchester United’s interest in players has been used as a bargaining chip.
So, when Brazilian side Santos’ star Lucas Lima has been reported to be closely monitored by Manchester United, the news is being taken with a pinch of salt (turkish-football.com). The midfielder has been linked with the exit door over the past few months and his representative, Luccas Badia is looking to spice up interest.
The player’s contract is set to expire at the end of the year and it is being widely rumoured that Lima will move away from Santos. Badia has now revealed that top European clubs including Manchester United, Inter Milan, AS Roma and Barcelona are all interested in his client.
“lnter, Roma and Barcelona are keeping close tabs on Lucas, Manchester United want him” Badia was quoted as saying by Haberturk.
It is not just normal interest but even bids were flying around for the player. Crystal Palace were reported to have made a €15million bid while Turkish side Fenerbahce were credited with a €20million bid. However, nothing moved and the player’s agent and the bookies were baffled as to why Santos have not accepted any of these offers.
Importantly, it was Fenerbahce that was credited with the strongest interest as certain social media reports pointed to an imminent summer move. First, Lima put in an Instagram story update in Fenerbahce colors and then liked several messages urging him to join the Turkish club.
The 27-year-old has been at Santos since signing from Internacional in 2013 and has established himself as a key player. He has scored 19 goals in 192 appearances for the club and this season in 24 appearances, he has scored once and assisted 9 times.
Lima has also represented Brazil at international level, having started in a friendly victory over Costa Rica in 2015. The playmaker has carved a name for himself as an assist machine, although niggling injuries in the past couple of seasons have disrupted his rhythm.
The Brazilian will be a great addition to our team but it remains to be seen if the club is really interested or is it just the agent playing tricks.
