CHELSEA are interested in signing Sporting Lisbon striker Conrad Harder, according to reports.
The Blues could re-enter the transfer market for a forward following the injury suffered by Liam Delap against Fulham on Saturday.
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Conrad Harder is attracting interest from ChelseaCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Enzo Maresca’s side were on the brink of loaning Nicolas Jackson to Bayern Munich, having deemed the 24-year-old to be surplus to requirements.
Jackson was allowed to travel to Germany for a medical yesterday, only for Chelsea to pull the plug on the deal upon Delap’s injury.
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SPORTING’S stadium underwent an incredible transformation during the summer.. but they’re STILL working on it with the 2025-26 season underway.
The iconic Portuguese ground – which was only built in 2003 for a cost of £150million – was given a bit of a facelift during the offseason.
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Sporting ripped up their playing surface, lowered it and added another bank of seatsCredit: Sporting CP
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The Portuguese giants re-laid the pitch using a hybrid surfaceCredit: Sporting CP
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Sporting managed to get the new surface ready for their first home game last weekendCredit: Sporting CP
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The stadium has a number of upgrades, including the all-new dugoutsCredit: Record
And it left the arena looking utterly unrecognisable – particularly after the entire pitch was ripped up and left looking like a building site.
Following the end of the 2024-25 season – in which Cristiano Ronaldo‘s old club won the league in no small part down to Arsenal new-boy Viktor Gyokeres‘ goals – Sporting got to work on the makeover.
Most-notably, the pitch was ripped up and replaced by a hybrid surface.
And it passed the first test with flying colours, as Primeira Liga officials gave it a 10/10 for the club’s 6-0 win over Arouca in their first home game of the season.
But it wasn’t just re-laying the pitch – the entire playing surface was LOWERED to allow the club to add 2,000 more seats around the base of the stadium.
That boosted the capacity from 50,095 to 52,095.
And that new feature – not ready for the Arouca battering – WILL be ready for the massive derby game against Porto on August 30 with seats now being installed.
The dugout area has been completely renovated, too – with the bench now boasted a capacity of 28 players and coaches.
On top of that, Sporting have opened a new “Emerald Lounge” for corporate ticket holders.
Club chiefs also splashed out £15m on repurchasing the adjacent Alvalaxia entertainment complex earlier this month.
Celtic star Daizen Maeda spotted doing press-ups in technical area after being subbed-off against Sporting Lisbon
Their plan is to re-home their club museum – which features their most important trophies, including replicas of individual Ballon d’Or gongs won by former players, Ronaldo and Luis Figo.
For now, the exhibition has been moved inside the stadium and is open to the public until the permanent residence is completed.
There is more work to be done inside the stadium, still – with the big screens currently being installed.
For now, supporters have a tiny scoreboard displayed on advertising hoardings on the side of the pitch.
But in time, the plan is to install multiple big screens.
Their plan moving forward is to cash-in on their corporate lounges – renting them out on non-matchdays for private events.
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