Sporting’s manager, Jorge Jesus, has said that Joel Campbell was a player he wanted when he was manager of Benfica, but refused to be drawn further on the issue because the deal wasn’t complete.
It is now, however.
With Campbell travelling to Portugal for his medical on Friday, the Sporting manager told Sport TV on Saturday, “I cannot be talking about a player who is not signed and is not of Sporting.
“When I was at another club [Benfica] he was already a player I wanted.
“It’s a situation, I do not know if it will happen, because I had other players who did not pass the medical examination.
“We will not speculate.”
Now, on Sunday, Sporting have confirmed the deal:
.@joel_campbell12 challenge accepted! Welcome to Sporting CP! #BemvindoCampbell pic.twitter.com/NyA7vIv2aV
— Sporting CP (@Sporting_CP) August 21, 2016
Followed by Arsenal:
Good luck, @joel_campbell12 https://t.co/pLTNJb7WT3
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 21, 2016
As for Arsenal, they now look set to head into the final weeks of the transfer window with fewer strikers than they started it with.
I’m not sure they’re doing this right, but what do I know?