FC Porto kick off pre-season under Villas-Boas' watchful eye | OneFootball

FC Porto began preparations for the 2026/27 season, with Francesco Farioli leading the first training session at Olival. The session featured 28 players, including new signings and several members of the B team, at a stage still affected by the absence of international players.

Among the main additions to the squad are the return of André Silva, nine years after leaving the Dragão for Milan, the signing of goalkeeper João Afonso from Santa Clara, and the arrival of young Norwegian midfielder Eirik Granaas, just 16 years old, recruited from Fredrikstad.

In addition to the new signings, Farioli also called up several youngsters for assessment at the start of pre-season. They include Mateus Mide, Bernardo Lima, Luís Gomes, Yoan Pereira, Tiago Silva, João Teixeira, Duarte Cunha, Eduardo Ferreira, André Miranda and Gabriel Brás, a 22-year-old centre-back from the B team.

The first day was devoted to the usual medical assessments and fitness tests, following a morning meeting involving the squad and coaching staff.

The Italian coach is still unable, however, to count on some of his internationals. Diogo Costa and Stephen Eustáquio remain with Portugal and Canada, respectively, at the 2026 World Cup, while Deniz Gül is expected to join the group before the trip to the training camp in England, following Turkey’s elimination.

Bednarek, Kiwior, Pietuszewski, Prpic, Froholdt, Zaidu and Pablo Rosario are only expected back on Monday, after being granted a few extra days of holiday following their commitments with their respective national teams.

FC Porto travel to England from 13 to 18 July, where they will hold their pre-season training camp at St George’s Park, before officially beginning the season by contesting the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup against Torreense.

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