The Portuguese press doesn’t have any doubts: Rafa Soares is indeed moving from Porto to Fulham.
The left-back is expected to have his medical and be announced by the Championship side still this weekend. A Bola insist the player had options other than Fulham, such as staying in the Portuguese league and being loaned to Chaves.
But Soares wasn’t Fulham’s first choice, with A Bola saying they only picked the player after failing to sign Joe Bennett from Cardiff City.
Championship leaders Cardiff were obviously loathe to lose a player to a promotion rival, and kept Bennett under the orders of Neil Warnock.
A Bola claims Porto will make ‘some euros’ by loaning the player, but the newspaper doesn’t seem to know the exact amount paid by Fulham. The London club will also be responsible for the 22-year-old’s full salary during the period.
The only thing the Portuguese papers disagree about is the buying option.
Most of them say Fulham will have the chance to land the player for €15m, yet Jornal de Notícias say the amount is around €20m.
Rafa Soares will have the season to prove he was a good enough second choice for Fulham after Cardiff’s Joe Bennett.
