Soccer Football - Portugal Cup Final - FC Porto v Tondela - National Sports Center Jamor, Alges, Portugal - May 22, 2022 Tondela's Pedro Augusto in action with FC Porto's Pepe REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
Crystal Palace officials watched FC Porto in action on Saturday, including one summer transfer target, according to a report from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (via Sport Witness).
The lowdown
Palace spent £31.14million in the transfer window just gone, bringing in four new faces – midfielder Cheick Doucoure, defender Chris Richards, goalkeeper Sam Johnstone and winger Malcolm Ebiowei.
Only Leicester City and Bournemouth recorded lower expenditures in the summer market, and only the Foxes made fewer additions.
Palace haven’t signed a player from the Portuguese top flight since the winter of 2018, when they brought in midfielder Erdal Rakip on loan from Benfica.
The latest
The report states that Palace sent scouts to watch Porto take on Gil Vicente at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.
The reigning Primeira Liga champions would run out 2-0 winners thanks to quick-fire goals from Medhi Taremi and Galeno shortly before half time.
The verdict
Who was the object of Palace’s attention? Well, the likeliest candidate is probably the winger Pepe.
A Bola previously reported that the Eagles had ‘collected information’ about the player and were keen on signing him.
Palace were said to be willing to pay a record fee of £43m to secure the deal, though Porto were asking for £51m and the player’s release clause is even higher at £60m.
The 25-year-old, who has 14 G/A in 48 games for Porto, is predominantly a left winger, and so may be viewed as a potential successor to the out-of-contract Wilfried Zaha.
However, he was deployed as a right-back for just the sixth time in his professional career on Saturday.
He turned in a decent performance across 83 minutes on the pitch, completing two out of three dribbles and creating a chance (via SofaScore).
Porto open their Champions League campaign against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, and Palace might have one eye on them again.
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