Youssef Chermiti’s extension at Sporting is in full swing and should be announced soon. As we have been able to find out, the new agreement, which has been negotiated for several months, now assumes an extension of the current commitment (ending in 2024) to 2027, with a substantial improvement in the striker’s salary and an increase in the termination clause.
The 18-year-old is currently in prison for a release clause of 60 million euros, but SAD leonina intends in the new contract to increase this value to the 80 million bar, at the level of the highest of the leonine squad, since was recently made in the signing of Diomande and also applied in the case of Pedro Gonçalves, when he extended at the end of 2021.
The already proven quality and Chermiti’s large margin of progression led Sporting’s SAD to believe that a lucrative deal could emerge for the club’s treasury in the future, hence the intention to increase the value of the clause to the highest level in the squad increase.
Chermiti has a full year 2023. He was introduced to the first team by Rúben Amorim on January 15, and then in a derby against Benfica, when he came in 12 minutes from the end of the game and almost at the final whistle he had the goal that could have brought victory to the Lions in the two-goal draw. He was then used again as a substitute in the I Liga, against Vizela, and in the League Cup, against Arouca.
In the last three games he was in the starting line-up and played the full 90 minutes. He scored his debut on matchday 19 with a goal that gave victory over Rio Ave. And he once again earned Ruben Amorim’s trust in the derby with FC Porto, despite the coach having Paulinho available on the bench. He scored again in the 2-1 defeat to the Dragons and eventually even earned public praise from the rival coach, with Conceição giving him a hug while still on the pitch and later praising him at the press conference.
It was right after the opening game against Benfica that coach Rúben Amorim issued a statement clearly suggesting that the youngster would be among his first options for the foreseeable future: “We are in talks with him about a new contract. A new contract , we are not going to look for more attackers. He, Rodrigo and Paulinho are my attackers. Here is my word of honour, if he signs a new contract, I will not look for a centre-forward again,” he said on January 15, before the January transfer window closed.
Youssef Chermiti was born in the Azores, in Santa Maria, the son of a Tunisian father and a Cape Verdean mother. As a child he played different sports, from handball to swimming, but at the age of nine he started playing seven-a-side football, first with Mariense and GD São Pedro and then with Escola do Pauleta. It was here, during a tournament in Torres Vedras, that he caught the attention of Sporting’s scouts. He was invited to take exams and continued to live at the Academia de Alcochete at the age of 12.
Source: DN
