English clubs tried but André Villas-Boas blocked Diogo Costa’s exit

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Portal dos Dragões

·2 September 2025

English clubs tried but André Villas-Boas blocked Diogo Costa’s exit

The possibility of a goalkeeper carousel on the last day of the market in England almost placed Diogo Costa in the orbit of Aston Villa, but the closing of the transfer window in the UK, late yesterday afternoon, had the expected outcome: the captain of FC Porto remains in the goal for the dragons and away from the Premier League.

To provide context: the potential departure of Emiliano Martínez to Manchester United would have forced the Birmingham club to look for a successor. The options most pointed out by the English press were Diogo Costa and Senne Lammens from Antwerp. However, the young Belgian headed to Old Trafford, keeping Martínez at Aston Villa, at least for now, and thus the transfer of the number 99 of the blues and whites to the Premier League was ruled out. This was not, of course, the only reason for Diogo's stay at Dragão.

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On the side of FC Porto's management, the position on the goalkeeper, one of the most valuable assets of the squad led by Francesco Farioli, has always been unequivocal: Diogo Costa is not for sale. Anyone wishing to sign him will have to pay a significant amount – the administration led by André Villas‑Boas refers to the release clause set at 75 million euros, an uncommon value in the market for a goalkeeper. It should be remembered that the most expensive goalkeeper ever was Kepa Arrizabalaga, transferred from Athletic Bilbao to Chelsea for about €80 million in 2018.

Moreover, a departure of Diogo close to the closing of the window in Portugal would leave FC Porto uncovered, without time to go to the market for a substitute, despite the confidence placed in Cláudio Ramos and João Costa, the other goalkeepers of the main squad, and in the promising talents Diogo Fernandes and Gonçalo Ribeiro.

This scenario remains until the closure of other windows, namely that of Saudi Arabia, where Al Nassr continues to monitor Diogo Costa's progress.

Galatasaray, on the other hand, seems to have definitively left the race after spending €33 million on signing Ugurcan Çakir. Rumors circulated about a new Turkish offer of around €25 million for the Portuguese international, but the response from the management, as with the previous offer, was an immediate no from Villas‑Boas.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.