Making their first significant play in this summer’s transfer market, the Arsenal universe will be brimming with excitement at a rare Primeira Liga venture, as they secure the services of FC Porto’s Fábio Vieira for a reported £30-million fee, plus add-ons.
For fans of the Portuguese game, however, the move instils a great deal of déjà vu, depreciating and heightening the league in equal measure.
No less than a week ago, the media’s eye had Benfica’s Darwin Nuñez in focus ahead of a club-record move for Liverpool, joining the Uruguayan with former Porto poster-boy Luis Díaz.
Today, Fábio Vieira becomes the latest to enjoy the attention his talents deserve, but just how good can the Premier League-bound star be?
At 27 years of age, the future of Carlos Vinícius is far from clear. Having signed for Benfica in 2019 before producing a solid scoring return in his first season, it appeared that he would be a useful asset to The Eagles.
FC Porto defeated Tondela 3-1 at Estádio Nacional to lift their 18th Taça de Portugal, sealing a domestic league and cup double in the process.
This weekend saw the Liga Bwin campaign draw to a close (barring next week’s relegation playoff) with most of the big decisions already taken care of throughout the table.
The focus was at the bottom of the table on the final Saturday of the Primeira Liga season with Tondela, B-SAD and Morerirense all fighting to finish 16th and thus go into a relegation playoff and avoid automatic relegation. With the matches of all three clubs kicking off simultaneously, it was Moreirense who grabbed the playoff berth thanks to a 4-1 victory over Vizela and Tondela conceding a devastating late equaliser at home to Boavista.