FC Porto sign young academy striker on professional deal | OneFootball

FC Porto has announced that it has signed a professional contract with Tcherno Jamanca, a 16-year-old forward from its youth ranks.

The striker, who scored 23 goals last season, has already tallied 11 in just five rounds of the Under-17 National Championship. “I feel very proud. I arrived here hungry to win and to claim many titles,” he began by telling the blue and white channels, also reflecting on 2024/25: “I showed a lot of competitiveness, I never stopped believing. My dream has always been to be the top scorer in every competition. The most special goal? It was against Benfica. It was a very tough game. People clearly thought Benfica was going to win, but since we are Porto, we have that winning mentality. We responded very well at home, with two very important goals.”

Tcherno recalled his origins in Sintra, where he played for clubs such as União Mercês, Vila Verde, and Real SC. “It was very difficult, but I believed a lot, I always believed. At Real I played more as a winger, but I liked playing more as a striker,” he explained. Who are his references at FC Porto? “I have two: Samu and Anhá [Candé, forward for FC Porto B].”

The collective goal for the under-17s this season is to win the national title. “The team is very strong, very united. We want to win the championship, we are working for that. Coach José João instills a lot of grit and intensity in us, he gets everyone running and tracking back. That’s what good coaches do,” analyzed Tcherno Jamanca, who also set a personal goal: “To play in this stadium [Estádio do Dragão] for the first team and score many goals.”

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