According to Sport, newly promoted Serie A side Venezia has contacted Real Zaragoza in recent days to inquire about Álex Gómez and express their interest in signing him.

This contact, first revealed by Italian journalist Di Marzio and confirmed by the newspaper, has not yet resulted in a formal offer, as Venezia's proposed fee falls short of Zaragoza's expectations. For now, there is no intention to submit a formal offer for the 18-year-old defender. Álex Gómez has also received larger offers from other foreign clubs from one of Europe's top five leagues, though not from a Spanish team. All signs point to Gómez's future lying abroad.

Negotiations for Gómez's transfer are expected to accelerate at the end of June and beginning of July. At present, his departure appears almost certain. The fee Zaragoza is demanding from Venezia exceeds the release clause in his contract.

Gómez began this season registered with the academy team on a contract through 2028 with a three-year extension option; however, he signed a new first-team contract in December. Those close to Gómez believe this contract is invalid because the player was not registered with the first team during the January transfer window.

Gómez has made 13 league appearances and 2 Copa del Rey appearances this season. He is also a Spanish U18 international and participated in qualifying for next year's U19 European Championship. Given the current situation, a transfer appears to be the only path forward, as neither party has reached an agreement on a contract extension since Lalo took over as sporting director in March.

The two sides have been unable to agree on his salary and role within the team. Since taking office, Lalo has successfully retained Piña and Terrell and secured Barachina's extension, but negotiations with Gómez have stalled for some time and are practically at an impasse, making reconciliation difficult.

Lalo said on Friday: "Gómez's contract remains valid—the one executed in January, or the one before first-team registration was completed. There are still two months left in the transfer window. We consider him part of our plan, and over the last three months, we have tried to update and renew his contract to align his terms with other academy players. I began working on this the day after I joined the club.

Neither party has maintained the same mindset. We will find a good solution for everyone, but we will not give away any player for free. The current idea is that he will return to the team with some contract adjustment on the first day of preseason training." This statement only reinforces the belief that he will leave.

This central defender is one of Real Zaragoza's most closely watched academy talents, having just turned 18 on February 14. Early this season, he first played for the Aragon side under Emilio Rayas, then Selles gave him opportunities with the first team, rotating him between center-back and right-back. When David Navarro took over as coach, his playing time decreased, but throughout the season he still made 15 official appearances, starting 9 of them, for a total of 930 minutes. His future now appears distant from Real Zaragoza, and given the current circumstances, it is highly likely he will not join the first team for preseason training.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.