Vasco da Gama made contact regarding Luiz Felipe, a 29-year-old Italian-Brazilian center-back at Spain's Rayo Vallecano. The club's management liked the player and the deal was not considered difficult, but there were reservations about his physical condition. These concerns were due to his injury problems during recent seasons abroad, in which he played only 24 times in the last two years across spells with Marseille, Vallecano, and Al-Ittihad. The defender has one cap for Italy, a contract with the Spanish club until 2027, and a current market value of €2.00m according to Transfermarkt.