Sporting already has a salary set for Doumbia (find out how much)

A Venetian derby for Issa Doumbia is heating up the Portuguese transfer market. Sporting and Benfica are battling for the 22-year-old midfielder, a key player for the Serie B club, which has already secured promotion to the top flight next season. Both the Eagles and the Lions are in talks with Venezia, with concrete figures being discussed for a potential deal. Sporting appears to be further along with the midfielder, having already submitted an offer, as reported by A BOLA. We can also reveal the salary figures awaiting the midfielder in Alvalade: €100,000 per month.

Sporting's interest in signing Issa Doumbia is well-known and long-standing. With the anticipated departures of Morten Hjulmand—who has a promised transfer—and Hidemasa Morita—whose contract is ending and who expressed an early desire not to renew in favor of exploring other leagues, particularly the Premier League—the green and whites have long identified Venezia's number 8 as the ideal midfield reinforcement. Furthermore, the Lions have already initiated concrete discussions with the player, getting ahead of Benfica, who are still only speaking with the club. Both Benfica and Sporting are now set to accelerate their efforts this May, as Venezia's guaranteed promotion allows the Venetian club to focus more readily on the transfer market.

Awaiting him in Alvalade, Doumbia has a five-year contract, valid until June 2031, with the aforementioned €100,000 net per month. This totals €6 million if he completes his five-year tenure with the Lions, amounting to over €1 million per season. His release clause, based on Sporting's standard for midfielders and forwards, is expected to be €80 million. In the current squad, only Ioannidis has a higher clause at €100 million, the same as Geovany Quenda, but the young winger has already been signed by Chelsea for €50 million and will join them this summer.

Doumbia's potential arrival at Alvalade aligns with a policy adopted by the green and whites in recent seasons: signing players from second-tier leagues, such as those in Spain, England, and now Italy. Notable successful acquisitions include Gyokeres (€20 million from Coventry in the Championship) and Luis Suárez (€22.1 million from Almería in La Liga 2). However, there's also the less successful signing of Kochorashvili for €5.5 million from Levante, also in Spain's second division.

Issa Doumbia's transfer fee will not be as high as those for the two aforementioned forwards, nor as low as that of the Georgian midfielder. However, it will certainly exceed €15 million, a figure Venezia considers low. Therefore, suitors like Sporting, Benfica, and even English rivals Brentford will need to dig a little deeper into their pockets. But probably not much deeper.

This season, Doumbia has made 37 appearances—36 in the league and one in the Coppa Italia—scoring nine goals and providing five assists. His most recent assist came last Friday, a decisive pass for Yeboah's opening goal against Spezia. That match, which ended in a 2-2 draw, ultimately sealed Venezia's promotion celebrations.