Pepê on historic Italian club's shortlist | OneFootball

Pepê wrapped up his fifth season at FC Porto by winning the national title, the second in the Brazilian winger’s career. In his debut season at the Dragão (2021/22), he had already played his part in the blue-and-whites’ march towards their 30th league championship. At 29, he is one of the most experienced members of the squad and one of those who has been at the club the longest, but, as is also the case with other younger assets, he is beginning to attract attention from abroad.

Roma are one of the clubs monitoring the Brazil international. The news began circulating this Thursday on websites linked to the Italian capital club, and A BOLA confirmed that Pepê is indeed on the giallorossi’s list of targets, in an interest that actually dates back some time.

According to information gathered by our newspaper, the Italian club sounded out the player’s representatives last summer and even considered submitting a formal offer to Porto’s SAD. That intention went no further, but the versatile forward’s name has never ceased to be highly rated in the Romans’ offices, who sent scouts to the Dragão relatively frequently throughout the season.

A BOLA understands that Roma have made no recent approach to FC Porto’s hierarchy for Pepê, and that is a scenario unlikely to change in the coming days or weeks. At the moment, the club do not have much financial room to manoeuvre and will try this weekend, away to Hellas Verona in the 38th and final round of Serie A, to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

However, if they do secure a place in Europe’s top club competition — the most likely scenario — and depending on possible departures during the summer, the situation could change, especially since the versatility of the Dragons’ number 11 appeals to Gian Piero Gasperini: in the experienced coach’s preferred 3x4x3 system, there could be room for the Brazilian in several positions.

In any case, Pepê is not the only name in the Portuguese market attracting Roma’s attention, as they have also watched Noah Saviolo of Vitória de Guimarães, who is also a target for Benfica. As for the FC Porto player, he is also highly regarded in other countries, including England.

His contract with the Dragons runs until June 2028, with an option for a further year, and includes a €75 million release clause. Even so, the SAD led by André Villas-Boas may be open to discussing offers naturally below that figure, although it still considers Pepê an important part of the future. In the season that has just ended, the winger played 48 matches in the blue-and-white shirt, 41 of them as a starter, scored four goals and provided six assists.

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