Argentine youngster could snub Chelsea and Man City for Sampdoria

Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG, Monaco and Benfica are just some of the clubs that have been linked with hotly pursued youngster Joaquin Correa, but they could all be beaten out by an unlikely contender.

According to Portuguese paper A Bola, who are following the transfer because of Benfica’s concrete interest in the Estudiantes player, Sampdoria have lodged a €6.5m bid for the midfielder, significant undercutting the €7m Benfica offer that was knocked back by Estudiantes in Novembers.

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Sampdoria’s lower bid can be explained by the influence of third party owners. While the club will be paying just €6.5m, various investors will put in €3.5m, raising the total sum to €10m, which is the player’s buyout clause.

Then, with the player at Sampdoria, where he is more likely to get game-time and increase his value, the investors just have to wait for one of Europe’s big boys to come calling in a few years with a much larger bid.

As third party ownership is not allowed in many European counties, including England, the buying club will have to purchase the third-party owned shares for whatever price the investors set, allowing them to make a healthy profit.