Farioli weighs up additions and U19 champions in FC Porto's England squad | OneFootball

FC Porto is rapidly approaching its pre-season training camp in England, at St. George’s Park, the English Football Association’s training centre, where the young players best prepared for a possible call-up to the first team are expected to join the usual members of the blue-and-white squad.

However, there is not room for everyone, so Francesco Farioli will have to decide who makes the final list and who is left out, as early as next 13 July, with the camp running until the 18th of the same month.

Between new signings, players already in the service of the Dragons and promotions from the youth ranks – who completed a clean sweep in the national under-15, under-17 and under-19 championships – the Porto coach has plenty of options to watch and choose from when the time comes to decide.

Let us start with the new arrivals. João Afonso joined from Santa Clara in this summer transfer window to be one of the goalkeepers in next season’s rotation, and he may also be used in Porto’s B team, so he will look to impress Farioli again after already doing so with a top-level display on the final matchday of the 2025/26 Primeira Liga season at the Estádio do Dragão.

Further up the pitch there is another new face, with Eirik Granaas arriving from Norway, where he had already made his debut for Fredrikstad’s first team at just 15 years old. In two seasons, he made 14 appearances and scored one goal, bringing in €1.8 million for the Nordic club before moving to FC Porto, where he wants to prove to Farioli that age is just a number.

Promotions could create some nice ‘headaches’

There are three names beginning work with FC Porto in this pre-season, all national under-19 champions after a high-level season for that Dragons side, with Yoan Pereira, Duarte Cunha and Eduardo Ferreira able to show themselves to the first-team coach and fight for an opportunity.

A left-back, a winger and a striker could be enough to fill some gaps and avoid heavy investment in the transfer market, emerging as a low-cost solution to strengthen FC Porto’s rotations.

Eduardo Ferreira and Duarte Cunha were decisive in winning the national title last season, combining for 36 goals and 11 assists, while Yoan Pereira showed consistency on the left flank, scored three goals and provided one assist, and was also called up to Porto’s B team.

Familiar faces ready to make the ‘step up’?

There are also other players already assessed by Francesco Farioli who could make this final list for the training camp in England, since some already had opportunities in the 2025/26 season, as was the case with Tiago Silva and Bernardo Lima, who made their debuts and gave the Italian coach reasons to smile about the future of the midfield.

In the defensive third there are also three ‘veterans’ from FC Porto’s B team, with Gonçalo Ribeiro, who made 16 appearances last season, and the centre-back duo in front of him, Gabriel Brás and Luís Gomes, who between them totalled 37 matches and who, at 22 and 21 years old respectively, may have here their last chance to make the ‘step up’ to the first team.

To round things off, midfield becomes even more crowded with two youngsters from Olival, as under-17 world champion Mateus Mide and João Teixeira are also eyeing a slightly open door to the first team during this training camp, bringing flair and ‘fresh blood’ to FC Porto’s engine room.

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