Aston Villa had an official in Portugal last night to watch Porto’s clash with Famalicão in the second leg of their semi-final clash in the Taca de Portugal.
That’s according to O Jogo, who don’t name which player, or players, Aston Villa were there to watch over, just that they were part of a contingent of six clubs to make the trip.
They saw Porto run out 3-2 winners in the game, which went to extra time after Ivan Jaime’s strike in the 75th minute made it level on aggregate.
Otávio provided the winner with a superb strike from outside the area before Evanilson wrapped things up with another strike three minutes later.
It’s not the first time Aston Villa have had a representative at Porto, with a report in the middle of last month making it clear that they had sent a scout to watch Porto’s clash with Inter Milan in the Champions League.
At the time we hinted they may have been impressed by centre back duo Fábio Cardoso and Ivan Marcano, while midfielder Marko Grujic also put in a solid display against the Italians and earned praise from local media as a result.
They were less impressive this time around and the man who really stood out was Otávio, particularly with his stunning goal to seal the win for Porto.
That was the big moment of the match which will have undoubtedly caught the eye, and he is a player who has been on Villa’s radar for some time.
Last year we covered reports in July and August that made it clear they were keen on Otávio, although that was under a different manager so there’s every chance that’s changed.
Still, his performance will have stood out last night and we’re sure whoever was there representing Aston Villa will have taken note.
