While the end of the European winter transfer window closed without much high-profile action involving Portuguese abroad, there was inevitably a sizeable group of Luso players embarking on new adventures across the continent.
We round up all the moves concerning foreign-based players across the last few days of the January market, which included Jovane Cabral leaving Sporting for an exciting new start with Lazio. There was disappointment, however, for Portugal-born youngster Fabio Carvalho, who will have to wait to finalise his move to Liverpool after the Reds failed to beat the deadline.
Perhaps the most eye-catching deal on deadline day was Jovane Cabral’s switch to the Italian capital with Lazio on an initial loan deal from Sporting. The Rome outfit will have the option to make the transfer for the forward permanent in the summer for a fee of around €9m according to reports in Portugal on Tuesday morning.
Having played a role in Sporting’s title victory last season largely as an effective substitute, Jovane has again been most commonly used as an option from the bench by Ruben Amorim this season. A Cape Verdean international due to a single cap acquired in a friendly in 2017, the 23-year-old has expressed a desire to represent Portugal at senior level and Jovane’s move to Serie A gives him the opportunity to make the next step in his development.
"One of the biggest clubs in Germany" - Tomás seals Stuttgart move
Also leaving Sporting is teenage forward Tiago Tomás, who signed for Germans VFB Stuttgart on Sunday. Like Jovane, Tomás was a squad player in the Lions’ title win last term, but the youngster has not made a league start for Amorim this season and joins Stuttgart on a loan deal which includes an option to make his stay permanent.
“I am very happy to be here,” the 19-year-old told Stuttgart’s official website. “VfB is a club with a great history - one of the biggest clubs in Germany. The Bundesliga is a very demanding league and I'm trying to do my best to help my new team."
Club director Sven Mislintat added: “We have been monitoring Tiago's development for a long time. He has many qualities that make our game more variable in the offensive area. Tiago was Portuguese champion with Sporting last season and most recently won the League Cup. He also played in the Champions League and proved his qualities there too. We are very happy that he has decided to join VfB and we warmly welcome him to Stuttgart.”
Ferro to Croatia
Benfica defender Ferro has finally completed a move to Croatian football by signing with Hajduk Split for the remainder of the season. The 24-year-old was reportedly set for a move to rivals Dinamo Zagreb last summer, but instead Hajduk will take Ferro on a six-month loan with the option to extend for another season.
“I had numerous offers but I decided for Hajduk with whom I had previous contact,” Ferro said upon his presentation. “I watched videos on the internet, found out about the club, and in the end I felt like they really wanted me here, they really put in the effort and I appreciate that.
“My former teammate from Benfica, Filip Krovinović, told me that this is a great club with amazing fans and a great city to live in. We talked more about the team, the players, the ambitions of the club and all the information I received certainly contributed to my decision. I came here to win trophies, I know that is what is required in this club.”
Once touted as being as good or potentially even better than Rúben Dias a couple of years ago, Ferro barely kicked a ball in 2021. Having been frozen out by Benfica, the defender spent the second half of last season on loan with Valencia in Spain, where he made just three appearances before returning to Lisbon.
Carvalho to stay put for now as Quina leaves Fulham
Fabio Carvalho saw a last-gasp switch to English giants Liverpool collapse at the end of deadline day, but the Portugal-born midfielder is expected to join the Reds in the summer. Carvalho, who is out of contract at the end of the season, was due to sign for Liverpool for a fee close to €9m.
Carvalho was expected to be immediately loaned back to Fulham to assist in Marco Silva’s side’s push for promotion, but the deal was unable to be finalised before the deadline. With Liverpool now likely to sign Carvalho on a free transfer in the summer, the Cottagers appear set to miss out on a fee for the 19-year-old.
One Portuguese certainly leaving Craven Cottage is Domingos Quina, with Silva deciding to end the midfielder’s loan deal with Fulham. Quina, who is owned by Watford, will instead spend the second half of the season with Barnsley, who appear destined for relegation at the foot of the Championship.
Elsewhere in England, Wolves allowed forward Bruno Jordão to leave on loan to Swiss side Grasshopper Club Zurich. The Super League club have put a strong emphasis on the Portuguese market since a takeover by Hong Kong ownership in 2020, with André Moreira, Tomás Ribeiro and André Santos already in Zurich. Wolves acquired winger Chiquinho from Estoril earlier in the window on a 3.5-year contract.
Joao Carvalho is leaving English football, with the former Benfica midfielder joining Olympiacos on a permanent transfer from Championship side Nottingham Forest. Carvalho was back in Nottingham this season after spending last term with Almeria in Spain, but now heads to join Pedro Martins’ Greek champions.
Other deals completed around the close of the window were led by well-travelled striker Hugo Vieira and ex-Porto midfielder André André:
Hugo Vieira: U Craiova (Romania) to Hibernians (Malta)
André André: Vitória de Guimarães to Al Ittihad (Saudi Arabia)
Filipe Soares: Moreirense to PAOK (Greece)
Ronaldo Camara: Benfica to Monza (Italy)
Renato Santos: Busan (Korea) to Algeciras (Spain)
Asumah Abubakar: Lugano (Switzerland) to Luzern (Switzerland)
Tomás Podstawski: Stabaek (Norway) to Bnei Yehuda (Israel)
Cristiano Figueiredo: CFR Cluj (Romania) to Dinamo Bucharest (Romania)
Andrezinho: Mafra to DAC 1904 (Slovakia)
Zé Miguel: Os Lusitanos to Santa Coloma (Andorra)
Ricardo Valente: Tuzlaspor (Turkey) to Ionikos (Greece)
Tomás Ribeiro – Belenenses SAD to Grasshoppers (Switzerland)
Ezequiel Justino Mação to Peimari United (Finland)
André Farina: PO Xylotymbou (Cyprus) to Helsingfors (Finland)
João Escoval: Rijeka (Croatia) to Anorthosis (Cyprus)
By Sean Gillen
@SeanGillen9
