Latest from the transfer rumour mill in Portugal
Portuguese football journalist Jan Hagen kicks off what will be a regular column throughout the summer months as he takes a trip round the transfer rumour mill.
Starting off in the north and Porto, Jackson Martínez’s days in Portugal seem numbered. The Colombian hitman has had a terrific season, but it’s well-known he wants a move to a bigger league. Not only has Jorge Mendes been involved to kick-start things, but also on Tuesday, the likeable striker told Colombia’s Rádio Caracol that he has permission to leave Porto.
It’s unlikely that anything will happen before the end of the Copa América, though, which starts on 11 June.
Continuing with Porto, Os Dragões officially exercised their option to buy on Real Madrid loanee Casemiro last week. It’s widely reported in the Portuguese and Spanish press that the fee to take Casemiro permanently to Estádio do Dragão is €15m. However, Porto and Real Madrid made an agreement that if Porto wanted to exercise their option to buy, but Real Madrid wanted to block the deal from happening and bring the Brazilian back to Spain, the Spaniards would have to pay Porto €7.5m compensation.
The broad consensus in the Portuguese and Spanish press is that Real Madrid have told Porto they intend to block the deal, which means, if the rumours are true, Porto will make a decent profit on a player who was only on loan.
Danilo: Porto or the Premier League?
Moving on to Madeira, Marítimo seem to be facing a busy summer. Both President Carlos Pereira and the player himself, Danilo Pereira, have confirmed the defensive midfielder is leaving the islanders. The destination isn’t set yet, but the Portuguese international has had a brilliant season for Marítimo and has a €5m release clause, so he won’t lack offers. A Bola has linked the 24-year-old to Porto, while Record claims Danilo’s agent has been in meetings with a Premier League club.
Not only will Marítimo look for a replacement for Danilo, they may also go on search for a new striker for the 3rd time in less than a year. A Bola claims Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund have started negotiations over Moussa Marega. The Malian striker arrived in January from Espérance de Tunis, to replace Moussa Maazou who joined Chinese side Changchun Yatai in the same transfer window.
Marega, like his two predecessors, Maazou and Derley (now earning his money at Benfica), became a big hit in Madeira. Marega ended the season on a high, scoring 6 goals in his last 6 matches. In six months the explosive striker hit the net 8 times in 16 matches.
André Almeida may be on his way out. Benfica’s versatile defender and midfielder wants regular first-team football and he and Benfica have already received offers from England and Spain, according to A Bola and Record.
Miguel Rosa staying put
We won’t leave Lisbon quite yet. Belenenses surprised everyone by qualifying for the Europa League this season and their superb winger Miguel Rosa has told A Bola that “It hasn’t crossed my mind to leave.” Amazing news for the Bélem club in other words.
Travelling back north, A Bola reports that Rio Ave could lose both Ukra and Tarantini this summer. The winger has received strong financial offers from Turkey, while Tarantini has offers from Cyprus and the Middle East.
On Wednesday night a bomb hit the Portuguese press, as Diário de Notícias claimed Jorge Jesus to Sporting was a done deal. Soon the rest of the Portuguese media outlets caught on, and the charismatic manager dominated the front pages on Thursday morning, all claiming Jesus will switch from Benfica to Lisbon rivals Sporting (for more on Jorge Jesus to Sporting click here).
There is no doubt in the Portuguese press who the replacement will be, as they all agree that Rui Vitória will be Jorge Jesus’ successor at Benfica. Vitória trained Benfica’s youth team between 2004 and 2006 and he seems to fit Benfica President Luís Filipe Vieira’s requirements.
Vitória guided Guimarães to 5th place this season and is known for his use of young players. Benfica will have to pay Guimarães €1m to release Vitória from his duties up north. He has reportedly been offered a 3-year deal by the Lisbon club.
All this will leave Sporting manager Marco Silva without a job, despite doing well in his first season. He has three years left of his deal and Sporting will pay €1.5m to release him from his contract, according to O Jogo. The talented manager won’t have any problems getting a new job, and he has already been linked with a move to Sevilla by Spanish newspaper AS.
Conceição out, Fonseca in at Braga?
The annual merry-go-around in the Portuguese top flight seems to have reached new heights this summer. Setúbal and Tondela have already appointed new managers for the new season, and it seems like Braga will do so too. Sérgio Conceição may get in line at the local Employment Office. He did a decent job at Braga this season, but President António Salvador is a difficult man to please.
Both A Bola and ZeroZero reports that to replace Conceição, Salvador has earmarked Paços manager Paulo Fonseca. The 42-year-old didn’t succeed at Porto, but back at Paços Fonseca has again impressed Portugal. This change of scenery will also see a dramatic change in style of football and behaviour at Braga. Fonseca is in many ways Conceição’s exact opposite both on and off the pitch.
By Jan Hagen
(for more from Jan follow him on Twitter @PortuBall)
