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| Friday, 13 August 2010 09:49 |
Panathinaikos tracking FC Porto’s Ukra - reportGreeks keen on U21 star Panathinaikos are hoping to make their second Portuguese signing of the summer after targeting FC Porto striker Ukra, according to reports in Greece.
The Super League champions signed goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes from Bochum on a season long loan earlier this summer, and the club, led by new director Carlos Freitas, who joined from Braga this summer, have again turned their attention to the Portuguese market. According to reports in both Greece and Porto, Panathinaikos’ interest in 22-year-old Ukra has intensified after club scouts saw the striker score the winning goal as Portugal’s U-21 side beat Lithuania 1-0 on Tuesday night. The club’s interest stems from coach Niklos Nioplias’ tenure in charge of Greece’s U-21 side, during which he became aware and was impressed when his team came up against Ukra. Porto have already turned down an approach from English club Newcastle for Ukra, while Academica are believed to have explored the possibility of taking the player on another loan, following his spell with Olhanense last term. Panathinaikos are thought to favour a similar arrangement. During pre-season, Porto boss Andre Villas Boas has used Ukra as understudy to Hulk as the right-sided option in attack within his 4-3-3 system. Therefore, the new Dragons boss is left with a big decision to make early on in his tenure at the Dragao. With the Brazilian a clear first choice for the position ahead of the new season, Villas Boas will now decide whether to resist the increasing level of interest in Ukra and keep him in a squad role, or allow the youngster to continue his development away from the Dragao, at least for the time being. By Sean Gillen Keep up to date with all the latest news on Portuguese football with the new PortuGOAL Twitter! |
The Liga could implement a "homegrown" rule like the Premier League has now. This rule forces clubs to have X amount of "homegrown" players on the squad.
This is unrelated to this story, but Benfica are also thinking of selling Danilo Pereira to a Serie A team. He is one of most promising young Portuguese players, and is only 18 years old. This is unacceptable. Portuguese clubs need to develop Portuguese talent. When will the federation address this epidemic of neglected national youth?