Villas-Boas open to another striker: “Key issue is Samu’s recovery” | OneFootball

André Villas-Boas used the ceremony in which he received the City of Porto’s Medal of Merit to address several FC Porto football matters. The Porto president spoke about Duarte Gomes’s resignation, stability in the market, and the recovery of Samu, an issue that could influence a possible move for another striker. Regarding the transfer situation, he assured: “Everything is calm.”

On the sidelines of the ceremony at Porto City Hall, André Villas-Boas painted a picture of calm, without hiding the concerns surrounding FC Porto at present. Between the demands placed on refereeing and the need to preserve a competitive core, the message was clear: FC Porto want to control their own processes before making decisions.

On the market, the Porto president expressed confidence in the club’s ability to keep its key players and strengthen only where necessary. Diogo Costa was one of the names discussed, with Villas-Boas assuring that there had been no concrete contact.

“Everything is calm. FC Porto’s objective is to keep its core after a very successful year and strengthen in the necessary areas, as we have been doing,” he stressed. “FC Porto is subject to the market like any club, but things are calm. Diogo Costa? We have received no offer or approach. He was clearly the best goalkeeper at the World Cup and we are very grateful that he is continuing at FC Porto.”

The watchword, therefore, is continuity. Villas-Boas acknowledges the unpredictable nature of the market, but presents FC Porto as a club with no declared urgency and determined to protect the backbone of the team.

The most sensitive issue, however, is linked to Samu. The president explained that the progress of the player’s recovery will be decisive in understanding whether FC Porto will need to look for an attacking solution in the market.

“The most sensitive issue is the management of Samu’s recovery process, one of the club’s most important assets. That recovery management could bring him back in November, and it is based on that decision that we have to decide whether there is a need to go into the market.”

There is therefore no decision detached from the player’s clinical condition. The possible signing of another striker is conditioned by that process, in a management approach that Villas-Boas places at the centre of the club’s priorities.

It is in that balance between continuity and ambition that Villas-Boas sets the course. Without side promises, the president points to a solid foundation as the starting point for challenging for the title.

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