One year ago, we saw Crystal Palace being linked to Porto player Pepê.
At the time, the Portuguese media claimed the Eagles ‘collected information’ about the player and could battle for his signing in that summer.
Well, nothing happened back then, with Pepê staying at Porto. But as O Jogo now write today, Crystal Palace watched the 26-year-old from close this weekend.
It’s not guaranteed that was a mission just to see the Brazilian, as the newspaper just reveals that the London side had a scout at the match between the Dragons and Boavista.
However, what is really interesting is that O Jogo says Pepê was ‘the figure’ of the game in Porto’s 1-0 win.
‘The intelligence and quality so praised by Sérgio Conceição and Pepê were well demonstrated yesterday, with the Brazilian filling the field,; says O Jogo.
“He sacrificed himself once again for the team after playing well up front. He retreated to fullback and ended the game in high rotation, with sprints and dribbles, which only did not give a better result because the wear and tear was already enormous.”
It should just be known that it will be quite expensive to take Pepê from Porto this summer, with recent stories saying he’d only leave for €75m.
Crystal Palace have scouted Porto games a few times this season, but it was never really made clear if they have a specific target at the club.
The Premier League side could obviously still be interested in other Porto players, and may have been impressed with performances from goalkeeper Diogo Costa and striker Mehdi Taremi.
