Without a doubt, he won the title against one of the main reinforcements of the season (Wendell), he assumed a growing preponderance in the team, he scored the goal that sealed the conquest of the Championship in the heart of the Estádio da Luz against Benfica, he became a hero among the blue and white nation in the consecration in Dragão, on Avenida dos Aliados and later in the final of the Portuguese Cup. Under normal conditions, and given the surveys that had reached FC Porto’s SAD, Zaidu was one of the best business opportunities this summer for the national champion given the valuation he achieved in the second half of the season. Today, few believe that he will come to light. Not for lack of proposals but before the high number of proposals that have come by other players in the squad.
“Market? I have no worries. The only thing I can promise is that there is no contact from any club regarding Diogo Costa to this day. Neither him, nor Taremi, nor Toni Martínez. There was a specific offer, of a considerable amount, for Vitinha that we do not accept and we refer to the termination clause, which is the only way”, Pinto da Costa, president of FC Porto, had mentioned last week, on the sidelines of the announcement of the sponsorship agreement with Betano The next day, Fábio Vieira left Greece, where he was on vacation, and continued to London, where he underwent medical examinations and reached an agreement with Arsenal to go to the 2022/23 Premier League.
The first sale was made even before the end of the 2021/22 financial year, in addition to the amount paid by Liverpool in January when they signed Luis Díaz. However, there was room for one more exit, preferably at the end of the month. And this “vacancy” will actually be filled by window.
The first proposal that came from the Portuguese international came from England, where there was even more than one club interested in the player, with Manchester United and Arsenal in the lead. It was soon rejected. If in relation to Fábio Vieira there was some opening to negotiate, with the left-back having a termination clause of 50 million but leaving for 35 million plus five for goals (in individual terms they should be reached quickly, later letting see the collective inscriptions, to namely, a qualification for the Champions League), in the case of Vitinha it was the clause or nothing. And even when Jorge Mendes, who heads the negotiations, contacted the Porto players, expressing PSG’s desire to acquire the midfielder for the aforementioned 40 million, he heard the refusal to pay the fees, the clause in cash or any.
In the midst of this possibility, something happened that the Blue and White SAD did not believe would even make it to paper: a proposal above all from Evanilson. The former Fluminense striker, for whom the Dragons invested 8.8 million euros for 80% of the pass bought from the modest Tombense, saw the Manchester United waves 60 million fixed plus five for goals, also showing the will to increase that value for a player who had the best season at Dragão in 2021/22 with 21 goals and five assists in 46 games but who is still waiting for his first call up to the main Brazilian team. A kind of dead end was then created, waiting for the Vitinha situation.
If PSG or any other club did not reach the termination clause, the midfielder could stay, with the possibility of renewing his contract to get one of the highest salaries in the squad, and the striker was in the starting lineup; now, before the guarantee that the French champion will reach 40 million, the margin to reject Evanilson’s proposals (up to a certain amount) increases. It should be remembered that, in the presentation of accounts for the previous year, Fernando Gomes, director of SAD Porto, had placed a minimum amount of cash inflows of 50 million as capital gains, also talking about what would be the “ideal value” amount of 80 million – a milestone reached with the sale of the Portuguese international.
However, the Brazilian striker is not the only player coveted by some of Europe’s top leagues. And this is where he comes in doubt in the FC Porto market especially in July: 1) the club will be able to retain all the remaining players who were part of the initial options in another double season or there will be more exits due to irrefutable offers; 2) who will be the successors for the vacancies, knowing only that David Carmo is the priority to replace Mbemba in the central defensive axis and that there will also be interest in the Guinean midfielder Mady Camara from Olympiacos.
Source: Observadora
