In the UEFA Europa League, Porto received Lazio at the Estádio do Dragão last night, and won the first leg of the round-of-16 with a 2-1 comeback.
The match drew the interest from several European sides who sent their scouts, and according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, one of the clubs in that list were West Ham United.
The outlet doesn’t know the players watched by each club, but in case the Hammers were looking for Porto talents, there were a few interesting targets on the pitch.
The first we have to mention is Zaidu Sanusi. The Nigerian left-back was linked to West Ham last summer, with a few attempts from the London side reported by the Portuguese media. At the time, it was claimed the Premier League club didn’t want to spend too much on the signing.
Another interesting talent on the pitch was Toni Martinez, who belonged to West Ham between 2016 and 2019. Following his permanent exit from the Hammers, he featured for Famalicão and now Porto, where he seems to be finding himself.
The striker scored two goals in the Dragons’ comeback against Lazio, being named the man of the match, and there’s no doubt the Hammers will have been impressed with what they saw.
The local media also highlighted the performance from two other young stars from Porto. Those were from goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who saved his side before they even got to equalise the scoreline, and fullback João Mario, who assisted both of Martinez’s goals.
So if the Hammers were there to see potential targets for the summer, the trip was probably worth it.
