Santiago Giménez is on track and Nuno Tavares joins FC Porto’s shortlist | OneFootball

With Rodrigo Mora’s possible transfer to AS Roma getting ever closer, and the 19-year-old already cleared to travel, FC Porto are looking to speed up the signing of reinforcements. Two players could arrive from Italy.

Santiago Giménez has long been identified as the Dragons’ main target for the attack, but the Mexican striker could have company on the way to the Dragão.

Among the options is also Nuno Tavares, Lazio’s left-back. According to the Italian press, FC Porto have already made an initial approach for the player.

Giménez remains the priority

André Villas-Boas is said to have Giménez’s signing well on track. According to Matteo Moretto, a journalist specialising in the transfer market, there is already an agreement with the 25-year-old player and with AC Milan, with only the formal submission of a written offer from FC Porto still pending.

The deal could be structured as a loan at no cost, together with an option to buy set at €20 million, to be exercised at the end of the current season.

FC Porto and Santiago Giménez are also said to have already agreed on personal terms, with a four-year contract planned if the Dragons move forward with the permanent signing in the summer of 2027.

Nuno Tavares is an alternative

Nuno Tavares’s situation is different and could represent a market opportunity. The Portuguese full-back is not part of Lazio’s plans for the new season and is looking for a solution for his future, which could lie with FC Porto.

According to Alfredo Pedullà, the blue-and-white club have already shown willingness to pay a few million euros for the loan of the full-back developed at Benfica, while also securing a purchase option.

Lazio are said to have ‘turned their nose up’ at those terms, but negotiations between the parties are ongoing.

The interest in Nuno Tavares is also said to be linked to UEFA’s restrictions on registering players for the Champions League.

The regulations require List A to include eight locally trained players, a requirement that could become more complicated with the possible departures of Rodrigo Mora and Stephen Eustáquio. If that happens, the registration list “will have to be reduced proportionally to the number of locally trained players registered,” UEFA states.

FC Porto do, however, have Vasco Sousa, a club-trained player who could help meet that requirement. The signing of Nuno Tavares could also be relevant, since the full-back, developed at Benfica, is considered association-trained for the purposes of UEFA rules.

There is, however, a deadline to respect: the list must be submitted by 11:59pm on 2 September, two days before the transfer window closes in Portugal.

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