Porto speed up fitness plan to get Moffi ready quickly | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli’s FC Porto faces an urgent need for solutions in their attack. After the serious injury that sidelined Luuk de Jong in December, the Dragons suffered another setback: a ligament problem for Samu, which will keep the team’s top scorer out for the rest of the season, including the World Cup.

In Sunday’s away match against Nacional, Deniz Gul is expected to take up the main attacking position, but there is another forward working at Olival with the aim of becoming a credible short-term alternative for the blue and whites.

That player is Terem Moffi. Signed on loan from Nice at the close of the winter transfer window, the Nigerian international was on the bench for the derby against Sporting, but has not yet reached optimal physical condition—a crucial requirement in Farioli’s playing model. The coach has already worked with the 26-year-old striker during the 2023/24 season at the French club.

Moffi is following an individualized training plan at CTFD Jorge Costa, aiming to speed up the recovery of his desired physical parameters. The forward has alternated days of intensive work—including extra hours in the gym and on the Olival pitch—with careful load management.

This is not unusual, considering that Moffi has regularly participated in team training sessions since his arrival. However, it takes on greater significance because his last competitive minutes date back more than two months: his last match for Nice was on November 30, when he played the full 90 minutes in a defeat to Lorient, an episode that was later followed by alleged assaults by Le Gym supporters on some players, including Terem Moffi.

An additional asset is that Moffi is already familiar with FC Porto’s playing dynamics. The striker believes that reuniting with Farioli could help him rediscover the form that, in 2023/24 and before suffering a complex injury to his left knee, caused problems for defenses in French football. The club is supporting this process and, if the adaptation is successful, the loan could become permanent: the board holds a purchase option set at 8 million euros.

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