Tottenham loanee Souza hasn’t even made his Porto debut yet. However, his chances of getting minutes have already received a boost.
The 20-year-old joined the Portuguese champions on loan from Spurs on deadline day. He went there looking for the regular football he wasn’t getting in London, and circumstances may now help him get exactly that.
Souza suddenly has a route
A Bola explain that Souza’s arrival became very important for Porto following an injury to Zaidu. The Nigerian left-back is expected to be unavailable for close to two months with an adductor problem.
That leaves manager Francesco Farioli with Souza and Francisco Moura as his available options at left-back for the time being.
There is another interesting detail from A Bola. Porto received several approaches from clubs wanting to take Moura on loan during the summer window (such as Coventry City), but rejected them all.
The Portuguese champions therefore deliberately went into the season with three left-backs. Souza was brought in to compete for minutes then, rather than simply fill a gap in the squad.
Things have changed quickly, though. With one of those three now unavailable for a significant period, there should naturally be more opportunities to go around.
Waiting for his chance
Souza managed only four senior appearances for Spurs after arriving from Santos in January. Therefore, finding somewhere he could play more regularly and develop towards his potential was one of the big reasons behind the move to Portugal.
He is still waiting for his Porto debut, so there’s obviously no guarantee he’ll immediately jump ahead of Moura. Farioli now has a reason to get him involved sooner, though.
Porto are also planning for the longer term at left-back and intend to discuss a new contract with Zaidu, whose current deal expires in 2027.
For Souza, the more immediate picture matters most. Six months after struggling for opportunities at Tottenham, his deadline-day move has quickly presented him with a decent chance to start getting the minutes he wanted.
