Grêmio close to signing São Paulo striker Willian José

Grêmio have revealed they are interested in signing striker Willian José, who has spent the last two seasons on-loan at São Paulo, despite rumours that the player would join Santos next season. Willian José, 21, who is owned by Deportivo Maldonado, a Uruguayan based third-party club owned by entrepreneur Gustavo Arribas, seemed destined to link-up […]
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sambafoot_admin
2012-12-11 20:10:00

Grêmio have revealed they are interested in signing striker Willian José, who has spent the last two seasons on-loan at São Paulo, despite rumours that the player would join Santos next season.

Willian José, 21, who is owned by Deportivo Maldonado, a Uruguayan based third-party club owned by entrepreneur Gustavo Arribas, seemed destined to link-up with Neymar next season at Vila Belmiro but now it appears he could be heading to Porto Alegre.

“I will not deny, the discussions progressed well,” Grêmio director of football Rui Costa told Porto Alegre newspaper Zero Hora. “We are already negotiating for a long time.”

And the transfer could be announced as soon as Tuesday if all goes well, although the club will wait for the contract to be officially signed before releasing a statement.

“He’s a player who has donned the shirt of the Brazilian national team and plays on the São Paulo, a club as demanding Grêmio.

“Vanderlei Luxembourg has interest in him,” added Costa.