Report: £16m midfielder stalling on new deal due to interest from Leeds and two PL clubs
Dutch outlet Voetbal Rotterdam claim Coventry City have offered Gustavo Hamer a new contract – but the Brazil-born Netherlands U20 international is stalling on signing the deal, due to interest from Leeds, Fulham and Burnley.
Hamer, 26, enjoyed a wonderful 2022-23 campaign – the best of his three since moving to Coventry in 2020. He provided the creativity as Coventry came close to securing promotion from the play-offs. He had a hand in 21 goals.
The playmaker scored 11 and created 10, scoring in both the semi-finals to knock Middlesbrough out – and score in the final to take the game to penalties against Luton. Coventry stay in the Championship. Viktor Gyokeres has left.
He has joined Sporting and now, all eyes are on Hamer. Either Coventry sell this summer and bring in a fee, or risk losing him for nothing next summer. They have offered him a new deal – but Leeds, Fulham and Burnley are keen.
The latest report states that Hamer is stalling on signing a new contract with Mark Robins’ side – because of that interest in him from the likes of Leeds. The Whites are certainly not on pole in the race to land the Coventry ace.
Coventry offer Hamer a new contract but is stalling due to Leeds interest
TeamTalk say that interested clubs will have to part with a fee of £16m to land Hamer. He would be an incredible signing, after Ethan Ampadu and Karl Darlow. But the chances of getting him are very slim, given top-tier interest.
Fulham and Burnley are much more likely to land the attacking midfielder. But Leeds would offer him nailed on game time at Elland Road after the exit of Brenden Aaronson. At Fulham he would struggle to start. Burnley, maybe.
Leeds can afford to pay £16m on a new player given the takeover from the 49ers – but it must fall into acceptable realms of Financial Fairplay. It might be Leeds have to sell an Illan Meslier, a Willy Gnonto or a Jack Harrison first.
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Benfica v Burnley: Kick-off time, potential team news & how to watch
Following their friendly against Genk on Saturday, Vincent Kompany’s men jetted out to Lisbon to begin a training camp.
As part of their trip, they will face Benfica, with the game kicking off at 8.30pm UK time.
However, the fixture will not take place at Benfica’s home – the Estadio da Luz – but will instead be hosted at the nearby Estadio do Restelo.
Roger Schmidt’s side, who pipped Porto to the league title by just two points last season, have already faced English opposition this summer, having beaten Southampton 2-0.
As for the Clarets, they’ve already played five friendlies this summer, four of them coming behind closed doors before Saturday’s first public outing against Genk.
Kompany is likely to use this match as an opportunity to hand more minutes to those players that didn’t feature against Genk at the weekend. Of the 11 that started the 2-0 defeat, eight remained on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.
LISBON, PORTUGAL – AUGUST 18: General view inside the stadium during a training session ahead of their UEFA Champions League Semi Final match against Bayern Munich at Estadio do Restelo on August 18, 2020 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Franck Fife/Pool via Getty Images)
The likes of Arijanet Muric, Lawrence Vigouroux, Dara O’Shea, Hjalmar Ekdal, Jack Cork, Jay Rodriguez and Wout Weghorst could feature more heavily.
New signings Nathan Redmond and Luca Koleosho could also represent Burnley for the first time having flown out to Lisbon with the rest of the squad.
Tonight’s game is not being streamed for UK viewers, although coverage is being shown on Portuguese channel Sport TV 1, with coverage getting underway at 7.30pm before kick-off an hour later.
There’s a quick turnaround for Kompany’s men after this game as they travel to the Spanish city of Huelva on Friday to face Real Betis.
That will be their penultimate friendly, with a trip to Germany to face Mainz also on the agenda, before their Premier League campaign gets underway against Manchester City on Friday, August 11.
