João Afonso has been on FC Porto's radar since the under-15s | OneFootball

At a time when FC Porto’s transfer market has been dominated by news about signing a striker – or even several – the Dragons have already secured their first reinforcement for 2026/27. The move for young goalkeeper João Afonso caught many by surprise, but the blue-and-white side had been following the Santa Clara player for quite some time.

The story comes from Nuno Pimentel, a former FC Porto youth coach who, interestingly, would later go on to coach the young Portugal international in the Azores. “I came across João when I was coaching FC Porto’s under-15s. He was still playing for São Roque, but even back then I really liked him and the personality he has. He played against us and showed a lot of potential and personality. I recommended that FC Porto sign him, but things didn’t move forward and the transfer never happened,” the current coach of Al Fayha’s under-21 team in Saudi Arabia told A BOLA.

“Later, when I went to Santa Clara [in 2022/23] with Mário Silva, he was already there and started training with the first team at 15. When I took over the under-23s and the B team, I gave him his debut in Liga Revelação at 16. He was certainly one of the youngest to play in the competition,” added Pimentel, “very happy” to see his former player join “a big club.”

João Afonso’s precociousness was recognized early on by Santa Clara’s football structure, which quickly classified him as an “elite talent.” “When the under-23 project was launched, João was immediately identified as a player with the potential to reach the first team in the short term. He went through an individualized development process, both on the pitch and in the gym, with a gradual introduction to competition through Liga Revelação. So he was always working with a great goalkeeper, Gabriel Batista, but there was that personalized support from the coaches and from the whole Santa Clara structure. The goal was to create the best possible conditions for him so that he would be ready to reach higher levels in the shortest possible time,” detailed Nuno Pimentel, for whom it is “always special” to talk about “a boy who inspires great affection.”

Called up to the youth national teams – he is part of Portugal’s under-20 squad for the Maurice Revello Tournament – João Afonso now emerges as a possible long-term successor to Diogo Costa, both at FC Porto and in the national team. “Allowing for the obvious differences, I’ll even say that I saw a successor to Diogo there. They have very similar profiles and João shows very special charisma: he is very cheerful, brings people together, and creates an excellent atmosphere. He is developing leadership traits, not only on the pitch through communication, but also because he takes part in every moment of the game. He is intelligent and perceptive, has a very good game with his feet, and contributes to the attacking process. He has already shown enormous potential and may already be a goalkeeper ready for great heights. And in terms of the future, there is someone there who is prepared for the very top at world level,” the coach concludes, confident in a bright future for the Dragons’ new signing.

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