Varela wants FC Porto title and Argentina recall | OneFootball

Now in his third season at FC Porto, Alan Varela is very close to winning the Portuguese league for the first time. The defensive midfielder, signed from Boca Juniors in the summer of 2023, is already one of the longest-serving players in the squad coached by Francesco Farioli – which is why he is part of the group of team captains – and he has experienced firsthand the difficulties the Dragons have gone through over the last two seasons. The reward is almost here, and everything points to it happening on Saturday, in the match that should mark the return of the number 22 to Francesco Farioli’s options.

Sent off in the derby against Sporting, which sealed the blue and whites’ elimination from the Portuguese Cup, Varela served his suspension in the match against Estrela da Amadora, in Reboleira, where Pablo Rosario started again, just as he had in the cup. At this stage of the season, the FC Porto coach is unlikely to be thinking about managing workloads or rotating the squad, but all signs suggest Alan will regain his place in the starting eleven tomorrow against Alverca, as the team looks to confirm the second league title of his career after winning the Argentine league in 2022 with his boyhood club, Boca Juniors.

What’s more, Alan Varela knows that the increasingly real possibility of becoming Portuguese champion in a Porto shirt could help him return to the Argentina national team squad. In September, it should be remembered, the defensive midfielder was called up for the first time by Lionel Scaloni, but he did not make his debut for the senior Albiceleste side. Since then, he has not been called up again, despite the strong season he has been having at FC Porto, and that absence has significantly harmed his hopes of being part of the 2026 World Cup.

In any case, Varela was reportedly identified the day before yesterday as a target for the Manchester clubs, but right now the player’s focus, like that of the whole team, is on only one thing: securing the national title this Saturday. After the end of the league campaign, it will be time to think about the summer market, although FC Porto’s interests are well protected by the €75 million release clause attached to the 24-year-old defensive midfielder.

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