JOAO MARIO was nowhere to be seen for Sporting Lisbon’s friendly defeat to Lyon yesterday as Chelsea, Manchester United and Inter Milan swarm around the Portuguese midfielder.
The midfielder was a key member of the Portugal side that won the European Championship in France this summer.
Since then, his stock has rocketed with a number of Europe’s major clubs now hoping to land him during the summer transfer window.
So much so, that Sporting president Bruno De Carvalho has adamantly rejected reports he could leave, saying: “I understand he is a player who is much appreciated but I want to reiterate our position.
“We do not sell our best players, we have a clearly defined project here. The fact may be that clubs are interested in Joao Mario, but that does not concern us.
“It just makes us proud because it means we are on track. I really hope that in a week’s time, when we start preparing [for the new season], the coach will have all of his players available.”
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But Sporting have a prestigious academy, spawning the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Eric Dier – and staggering 10 of the 14 players used by the winners in the final against France came through the academy at one point in their career.
And of all the Sporting players who won the Euros, Mario was the only one not to feature during the friendly defeat to French side Lyon in Lisbon.
Sporting coach Jorge Jesus was keen to squash speculation, revealing afterwards he was still on holiday and will join the club for pre-season preparation next week.
He said: “”What is agreed is that the players who were in the European Championships have to perform at the end of next week.
“I asked everyone if they could come to the Lyon match. Even [goalkeeper] Rui Patrício was not to meant to play but played. João Mário was much farther behind than the others to make the match.”
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is keen on bringing Mario to Stamford Bridge in a reported £46million deal despite already splashing the cash on Leicester ace N’Golo Kante.
While United could yet make a move if their potential world-record transfer for Juventus superstar Paul Pogba slows down due to fresh interest from Champions League winners Real Madrid.
Inter Milan have also expressed a desire to pair Mario with new signing Ever Banega after boss Roberto Mancini missed out on Manchester City veteran Yaya Toure.
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