Eduardo Ferreira impresses Farioli, learns from André Silva at Olival | OneFootball

FC Porto’s 2026/27 season will begin pre-season with problems in attack, especially through the middle. Samu is still recovering from the serious injury he suffered to his right knee in February, and his return to competition is only expected in November. Deniz Gul, meanwhile, saw his World Cup involvement with Turkey come to an end in the early hours of this morning and will be entitled to a few extra days of rest before joining the group coached by Francesco Farioli. As such, the centre-forward role will initially be covered in pre-season by new signing André Silva and Eduardo Ferreira, the under-19s’ top scorer last season.

The former Elche man is leading the race to win a starting spot for the Super Cup, scheduled for the weekend of 1 and 2 August. Besides knowing the club well, he is a perfect fit for the style of play advocated by Farioli, returning to the club he loves – and where he came through the ranks – with almost a decade of experience in Europe’s top leagues (Italy, Germany and Spain). That could be important in helping young Eduardo settle in among the more experienced players.

Despite the 12-year age gap, the paths of the two forwards show some curious similarities. Both were developed at Olival after being recruited from other clubs at youth level; now, just as happened with André Silva, Dudu (as he is known) is also emerging in the professional setup on the back of goal after goal for the junior team. In 2025/26, Eduardo Ferreira scored no fewer than 26 goals in 35 games for Porto’s under-19s – he was the Dragons’ top scorer. To those numbers he also added five appearances and one goal for the B team, where he began to feature more regularly in the final stretch of the season. Now, he will be assessed by Farioli while learning from André Silva, with whom he will work closely. Until another attacking signing arrives, he may have room to play, should the Italian coach see fit.

For the rest, Eduardo Ferreira wants to report to Olival in the best possible physical condition and, to that end, has been carrying out individual training sessions in recent days, with and without the ball, after completing his secondary school exams. He is only 18 years old…

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