Manchester City scouts were back at the Dragão on Sunday, just eleven days after getting a close look at Porto themselves.
City faced Porto earlier this month and had another chance to take notes on September 20. This time, their representatives watched Porto beat Benfica 3-1 in the Portuguese clássico.
A Bola’s Monday print edition lists Manchester City among the clubs with scouts in attendance.
There was plenty for them to see. Victor Froholdt, in particular, gave City something to think about despite their new-look midfield already clicking nicely.
Froholdt puts on a show
Froholdt was probably the best player on the pitch. The 20-year-old was returning after suffering a concussion against Moreirense. It didn’t take him long to get back up to speed.
He brought his usual energy to Porto’s midfield and was everywhere defensively and going forward. Froholdt then made it 2-1 just three minutes after Benfica had equalised.
O Jogo picked the Dane as Porto’s best player and described him as a “fundamental” part of Francesco Farioli’s team. He’s already attracting attention from some of Europe’s bigger clubs, so Manchester City certainly won’t be alone if they liked what they saw.
City’s midfield is hardly crying out for help right now. Even so, it’s difficult to ignore a 20-year-old dominating a game of this size.
Gabri Veiga is another player who could easily stay somewhere on their radar. The Spaniard is still only 24 and has been very consistent for Porto. He’s also technically gifted enough to stand out in this team.
Sunday was another good example. Veiga kept finding interesting spaces between the lines and made a clever run in behind for the opening goal. Pepê found him with a superb pass, and Veiga finished calmly.
He only lasted a little over half an hour, with Farioli taking him off after he’d been booked.
Youngster Oskar Pietuszewski, previously linked with Manchester City, also came on late. He barely had time to get involved, though, and made little impact.
| Every Aston Villa signing 26/27 | Nationality | Previous Club | Fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas Jackson | Senegal | Chelsea | £65m | |
| Johan Manzambi | Switzerland | Freiburg | £59.5m | |
| Ibrahim Mbaye | Senegal | PSG | £47m | |
| Joao Gomes | Brazil | Wolves | £38m | |
| Zion Suzuki | Japan | Parma | £30m | |
| Taylor Harwood-Bellis | England | Southampton | £29m | |
| Matteo Ruggeri | Italy | Atletico Madrid | £17m | |
| Modou Keba Cisse | Senegal | LASK | £4.3m | |
| Leon Goretzka | Germany | Bayern Munich | Free | |
| Alejandro Garnacho | Argentina | Chelsea | Loan | |
| Aaron Wan-Bissaka | DR Congo | West Ham | Loan |
Benfica defenders also give City something to watch
There were interesting names at the other end too, especially in Benfica’s defence. Tomás Araújo is already a very valuable player and looks like the sort of centre-back who could be useful for City’s defence.
The scoreline wasn’t kind to him, but the circumstances weren’t either. Clément Lenglet picked up his second yellow after 35 minutes, leaving Benfica to play most of the match with ten men.
Araújo was one of their better players from that point despite Porto scoring three.
The red card also created a difficult job for Samuel Dahl. The young left-back had to fill in at centre-back. Dahl is an interesting player with plenty of potential, but he struggled to contain Porto while Benfica were a man down.
Young goalkeeper Samuel Soares also deserves a mention. The Benfica goalkeeper conceded three, but that doesn’t really reflect his performance. He made several very good saves and stopped Porto from adding more.
