Samu set to miss start of 2026/27, FC Porto step up striker hunt | OneFootball

The summer transfer window does not open for another month, but FC Porto are already preparing to reshape the squad under Italian coach Francesco Farioli, following the already confirmed departures of Thiago Silva and Luuk de Jong. Even so, this work is far from complete, not least because there are areas of the pitch that are starting to cause serious concern.

This is the case with the attack, which is set for a real revolution due to a number of constraints. The Dutch international’s contract has expired and he is even considering bringing his career to an end, while Terem Moffi, on loan from Nice with a purchase option set at eight million euros, is unlikely to remain at the club.

The Nigerian international, it should be remembered, arrived at the Estádio do Dragão last January, but failed to establish himself, managing just two goals and one assist in 15 official matches, so all signs point to a return to the French club.

The case of Samu Aghehowa is also far from straightforward, albeit for entirely different reasons, after he underwent surgery in February for a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, suffered in the draw against Sporting, in the Clássico of the 21st round of the Primeira Liga.

According to this Saturday’s edition of O Jogo, the Spanish international has already started running on the treadmill and doing specific exercises to strengthen his leg muscles, in an attempt to reduce his time out. Even so, the blue-and-white medical department does not want to take any risk of a relapse.

In that sense, it can be read, the 22-year-old player’s return to the pitch should only happen, in the best-case scenario, in November, which means the new national champions will be unable to count on their main attacking reference during the first three months of the 2026/27 season.

It should also be noted that Deniz Gul, the last option for the attacking sector, has been called up by Turkey for the World Cup, which will take place between 11 June and 19 July in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico, and will therefore miss the start of pre-season, scheduled for 1 July.

The market is the solution to ‘patch up’ the attack

Faced with this worrying scenario, the board led by André Villas-Boas will have no alternative but to turn to the market and, the publication adds, signing two strikers has not been ruled out, especially since the sporting challenges ahead will be, to say the least, demanding.

FC Porto head into the new season determined to retain the national title and, at the same time, go as far as possible in the Champions League, after having played in the Europa League in 2025/26, a competition they exited in the quarter-finals after being eliminated by Vítor Pereira’s Nottingham Forest.

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