I agree that Nelson was better off getting playing time elsewhere. I also feel that he will get his best chance at Deportivo since they're newly promoted and have older strikers. He just wasn't going to get the time at Benfica with Cardozo most likely staying. People are also forgetting that Rodrigo had a great year last season, where it was a bit torpedoed due to Alves tackle vs Zenit.
I'm really hoping Witsel stays one more season and Nico goes, especially with Salvio coming on. Nico might get disgruntled for not leaving after being touted to do so, but it looks like the offers just haven't been there. Worse case, Nico could slide inside to make room for Salvio. Enzo looks like the odd man out, and Bruno's time would also suffer. Not good.
I'm not as high on Salvio as everyone else, and definitely think we overpaid. He's coming off a tough injury and leaving a club that didn't want him anymore. For me, it was bad business. Nico is still here, and the need is at left-back. I would have preferred Juan Angel from Roma, who would fit our style of play and looks to be available. A quality young player for much cheaper that fills a much needed spot. Let me add, us throwing Emerson to the scrap heap, instead of carrying this preseason, could be a huge mistake. I believe that all the goals given up this preseason have come from the right side.

Porto's situation is very fluid at this moment. I think that everyone realizes Hulk is ready to leave, and waiting so long to dispatch him leaves little time for replacement or enforcements. Moutinho is also touted to go. Porto does have quality, young quality at that, but I think that they will suffer in European play due to the losses that are expected.
This one is very much still up in the air.

Sporting is still revamping its squad. I think they didn't get enough for some of the moves, but they needed the cash influx. More importantly is that the current transfers have come for free and have potential. Sporting also owning all of the player, makes it that much more important.

Braga has yet another new manager. I actually think that Peseiro will do fine. The bigger question is whether the players will allow him to do his thing after accomplishing so much.

Guimaraes is just a very sad situation. Somebody pocketed a lot of money while players didn't get paid and fans suffer.

Much too early for predictions. Plenty of silly season left.

I've said it before on a previous post, but I'll say it again here that I'm really really happy with Sporting's squad! Sa Pinto has been building a team with smart and cost effective moves which have been done in such a way that people haven't really sat up and took notice of just how much potential this squad really has. That is a good thing too. Alot of home grown young stars in this team that I believe will be hugely influential players this season even more so than last season. Also there were both good moves for Joao Perreira and Matias Fernandez. Both of them probably could have been sold for a bit more, but at the end of the day there are very few clubs in the world nowawadays that can buy players for a ton of money. Also they weren't title winning players so their price couldn't have been that high anyway.

More importantly they were good moves career wise for both players and also they were good for the future development of Sportings upcoming stars. Cedric and Andre Martins respectively will fully take advantage of these chances and can go on to do as good a job, and maybe even better than their predecessors. Likewise somebody pointed out a concern for Sporting about "where" goals would come from if Wolfs got injured. The same reason Sa Pinto was elected and why players like Cedric and Andre Martins have been given full confidence is also the reason why another "big" name striker hasn't been bought. This is the difference between other big clubs in Portugal and Sporting, and this is why Sporting's young players always develop well! Sa Pinto is putting his faith in the young strikers Diego Rubio, Wilson Eduardo, and the newly signed Valentin Viola. And I personally think that is the perfect decision! Those three players have alot of quality. Sporting plays with one striker anyway, so there shouldn't be a problem. All in all Sporting's squad has been strengthened perfectly from last season! Sa Pinto has made great moves and this team will be incredible!

Also great move for Nelson Oliveira! I said on a post after the cup game between Benfica and Gil Vicente in Barcelos Nelson's home town where he started and was needlessly subbed off at half time by Jorge Jesus, that Nelson was not happy and that he would leave. And that is exactly what has happened. And I fully support him for doing it. Benfica never gave him the amount of games his talent deserves. More specifically Jorge Jesus didn't have enough faith in him and didn't give him enough confidence. Not surprising since we all know of his distaste for Portuguese players. A player who is one of the most talented young strikers in the world, and U20 World Cup finalist and Silver Ball winner deserves more nurturing and support and development with game time than he got at Benfica. This season regardless of what some of yall Benfica fans may say, would have turned out to be just more of the same.

Nelson needed to make a change in the right direction for his career and for the Portuguese National team's sake as well. Almeida is and should be done never to be seen starting ever again. Postiga is decent and tries his best. But looking forward we have to get our young strikers Nelson Oliveira, Ricardo Vaz Te, Rui Fonte etc coming on strongly as quickly as possible! This and the next season leading up to World Cup 2014 are very important in this respect! None of these players should be spent warming the bench. Nelson would have been doing just that again in Benfica, not all because of his fault.

I believe he made a good move, to a club thats newly promoted, and one that lacked some players and had space, but also a club that has a rich history in La Liga and world football as well. This is a team with now 7 Portuguese players as well and this will be very good for all of them including Nelson to feel really comfortable! The staff in Deportivo most importantly have put trust in their Portuguese players last season with Bruno Gama and Diogo Salomao playing key roles on either wing for Deportivo forming an integral part of their attack! All due respect to the current strikers at Deportivo, Riki and Rudolfo, but they are both pretty average strikers who are 31 and 34 yrs old respectively! I honestly believe that Nelson Oliveira has alot of talent and I think he has it in him to go there and fight evenly with these two guys to earn a starting spot in the team. I think he could do really well there. An attacking trio of Nelson Oliveira Bruno Gama and Diogo Salomao will be amazing and really exciting to watch. This is a good move for him, gaining experience in La Liga, a league that I think suits him really well too. He's got the ability and I believe he'll do well! Forca Nelson!

Here we go again, new season just a few weeks away...summer always flies past, can't believe new season's coming up already! Sporting have been by far the most active in the transfer market, as they were last summer. They look to have a strong squad on paper now and should build on their encouraging end to last season. They really should be more of a title challenger this year than last, and i expect them to be ahead of Braga this time. The worry i would have for Sporting is goals, if Wolfswinkel isn't scoring them, it's hard to see who else will get loads.

Braga made a good signing in Ruben Michael and their midfield looks very good. If their defence remains as solid as it has been in the past few years, then they will continue to be hard to beat. However much depends on how quickly they react to a new coach with new ideas. Also if Lima is not as prolific as last year, then goals could be hard to come by.

Porto will once again start as favourites being the defending champs...this time last season I considered Benfica to be the title faves because of their great pre-season form, but in the end they disappointed when it mattered most...so Porto have to be considered faves yet again. Much will depend of course on which players Porto lose this summer. If Hulk and Moutinho both go, then there will be much quality lost, and I don't know if they have the players in the squad to replace them. Of course they would get a lot of cash for them, but even still they would both be hard to replace, particularly Hulk. But we thought the same about Falcao last year, so it remains to be seen...these next few weeks will be crucial in determining how Porto's season is likely to go.

As for my Benfica, the pre-season has been very good so far, and although i won't make the same mistake of last summer in being over-confident, the signs are looking encouraging. No big players lost yet and some interesting looking additions, namely Enzo Perez, Carlos Martins, Melgarejo and Ola John, who will all bring depth to the squad. I'm still sure one major sale has to be made this summer to balance the books, and i always thought at least one of Gaitan, Witsel or Garay would go, and this is still the more likely scenario. Hopefully we can manage to keep hold of Witsel for one more season.

I have mixed feelings about Oliveira being loaned to Deportivo. On one hand it's disappointing as he is a talented young player. But on the other hand hopefully he will get much more playing time in Spain and develop and return to us next summer as a more mature player. This would be good for the Selecao as well that he plays more matches. Oliveira going on loan is probably confirmation that Cardozo will stay at the club, and this is good news as he is a guarantee of goals. We just need a new left-back to strengthen the defence, and if we get one then I would be quite confident that this squad has the balance and quality to have a very good season...

Well, I really hope salvador agra can make a name for himself in spain.. hes a fantastic player,.. quick, has a great shot, and is a gread playmaker. Betis got him for a steal! Olhanense will be kicking themselves. Also, its sad to see all of the players such as neca, hugo leal, assis, vilela, artur, and those types of players moving to no-name teams basically, ahah... Oh well...

I see he is listed as out @ Gil Vicente. Will he be at Braga? He is not listed as in. I enjoyed watching him last summer on holiday, would love to know where he will be playing. Thanks