The Champions League clash between FC Porto and Arsenal last night was undoubtedly a great opportunity for Premier League clubs to see how the Dragons’ talents would do in a big match against an English side.
That’s why some of them were interested enough to send their scouts to Portugal. As reported by newspaper Record, the likes of Aston Villa, Manchester United and West Ham United all had officials watching the match at the Estádio do Dragão.
There’s no information on which players those clubs were interested, and none of them have been linked to Porto players, at least those who were on the pitch, recently. Still, we might have a good idea of who managed to impress last night.
One of them was Porto midfielder Alan Varela. The Argentina international controlled the midfield and was all over the place, stopping several of Arsenal’s attacks. If the Gunners had big difficulty creating plays, that has a lot to do with the 22-year-old’s performance.
Now the one who’s picked as the MOTM by Record and O Jogo is Galeno, given his decisive role in scoring Porto’s winner. As Aston Villa, Manchester United and West Ham may have been interested in his performance, O Jogo writes something about his future:
‘The winger has been the symbol of the Dragons in this European campaign, taking responsibility when it’s necessary to take risks. Yesterday’s goal, with its artistic flair, put the team ahead in the play-offs and propelled the Portuguese-Brazilian to a level of excellence in the English market, where he already had prestige.’
It’s worth recalling that Manchester United were this season linked to Mehdi Taremi and Diogo Costa. But the striker, whose contract expires at the end of the season, was out of the game due to an injury, while a goalkeeper doesn’t seem to be the Red Devils’ priority right now.
As for West Ham, they were said to be interested in Zaidu, who’s now out for a few months due to a cruciate ligament injury. In Aston Villa’s case, there hasn’t been interest in any Porto player for a long time.
