Crystal Palace loanee Matheus França is ready to get his latest attempt at a career reset properly underway.
The 22-year-old joined Alverca on loan after spending pre-season back with Crystal Palace. His move to Portugal had already been announced, but he had to return to London to deal with personal matters.
Now he is back, training and available for selection. Portuguese newspaper Record reports on Tuesday that França completed his first Alverca training session on Monday. He has also been registered with the league.
That means he can make his debut against Nacional this weekend.
Palace pre-season offered some encouragement
Matheus França featured in most of their pre-season friendlies and certainly didn’t embarrass himself. The Brazilian scored a hat-trick in 45 minutes against Swindon Town and also found the net against Fulham.
That wasn’t enough to change the bigger picture at Selhurst Park. França has a contract with Palace until 2028, but another loan always looked the most likely outcome. He now gets his next chance in Portugal.
That comes after a pretty miserable spell back in Brazil. As we followed closely, Palace sent França to Vasco da Gama in August 2025, hoping regular football could help him recover rhythm and confidence.
Instead, he finished his year there with 27 appearances, one goal, no assists and a fair lot of criticism. He started only four matches and never really got going.
Alverca could use some help
There should at least be an opportunity for França to make an impact quickly at his new club. Alverca have made a poor start to the league season. They are still waiting for their first victory after five matches and currently sit third from bottom.
So this isn’t exactly a move where França can quietly disappear into the background. After a disastrous year at Vasco and some encouraging signs during Palace’s pre-season, Portugal offers another chance to get his career moving again.
The first step has now been taken. He is training, registered and available to play against Nacional next Saturday.
