Aston Villa are preparing a €20 million bid for Sporting CP winger Geny Catamo, but Portuguese side Sporting have made it clear they will not accept anything less than €25–30 million for the 24-year-old Mozambican international.
Catamo has been on Aston Villa’s radar for months. Two months ago, reports in Portugal suggested that Villa had already contacted the player and informed him of the salary he would receive if he moved to Villa Park. However, the Premier League club reportedly hesitated over meeting his €30 million valuation.
On Friday, A Bola reported that Aston Villa could make a late move for Catamo ahead of the transfer deadline. The front page of Saturday’s edition stated, “Aston Villa and Fenerbahçe advance for the Mozambique winger,” although the story only featured briefly.
According to A Bola, Fenerbahçe have also joined the race after failing to land Benfica’s Kerem Aktürkoğlu. The Turkish side initially offered €22.5 million plus €2.5 million for Aktürkoğlu, but later revised their bid to €15 million plus €3 million in bonuses—an offer that Benfica reportedly rejected, effectively ending negotiations.
Now, Fenerbahçe are shifting focus to Catamo and are prepared to offer €20 million. Similarly, Aston Villa have reportedly submitted an offer worth €20 million, including €2 million in bonuses. However, Sporting are holding firm and are said to want at least €25 million plus €5 million in bonuses — effectively a €30 million package.
That means Villa sporting director Monchi may need to raise the bid by €5–10 million to get the deal over the line before the window closes.
When asked about potential bids for Catamo and teammate Conrad Harder on Friday, Sporting manager Rui Borges said:
“They’ve been called up for tomorrow [Saturday], and you’ll have to ask Bernardo Morais Palmeiro [Sporting’s general director of football] about the rest.
My job is to train them and keep them focused for the match against Nacional.
I work at a big club, and here, on a daily basis, there’s always going to be talk of transfers.”
With the transfer deadline looming, it remains to be seen whether Villa will increase their offer — or risk losing Catamo to their Turkish rivals.
