William Carvalho – Sporting Lisbon
The barnstorming Portuguese has also been linked by Maddock in the same piece which suggests Illarramendi as a replacement option. Carvalho’s talent is immense, but so would his likely price-tag be, with his £37m release clause well publicised (via Independent).
In this respect, Illarra would be the most financially viable option.
What’s more, Carvalho is more of a box-to-box midfielder than a holding one. He loves to drive through the centre with or without the ball, and this characteristic would be denied of him in a traditional anchoring position.
Finally, he’s also out for three months injured, which suggests to us that Maddock’s link is tedious at best.
