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The Portuguese top-flight – through the many memorable and fleeting generations of bwin LIGA, Liga Sagres, Liga ZON Sagres, Liga NOS, Liga Portugal Bwin and now Liga Portugal Betclic – has proven a reliable source of up-and-coming talent to the rest of Europe.
A proverbial magnifying glass is once again on the Iberian country, with Ruben Amorim recently being appointed as the new head coach of Manchester United, and his Sporting CP side taking on his future rivals Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.
No one’s suggesting that Amorim is going to go full Erik ten Hag and simply sign everyone from his former team and home country, but it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world for Premier League clubs to recognise the talent on offer in Portugal.
GOAL has picked out six Sporting players who have been linked with moves to England and why they should follow Amorim to the Premier League:
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AFPViktor Gyokeres
Right, well, obviously we are going to start with the big goal-scoring machine who could rival Erling Haaland as a freakish Premier League striker from Scandinavia. England’s elite were negligent to allow Viktor Gyokeres to leave the country and swap Coventry City for Sporting in the first place back in 2023, and they can’t afford to watch him go elsewhere for a second time.
The gigantic Swede is averaging nearly a goal a game across his entire spell with Sporting so far, with 59 in 65 already – including 16 in 15 this season alone. Even beyond the numbers and fear that he could be flattered by a weaker league, he passes the eye test to boot. There are few forwards who can throw around the full weight of their 6’2″ self and still have the agility of a spritely winger.
Arsenal and Liverpool were heavily linked with a move for Gyokeres earlier in 2024 before they decided to shelve plans to try and bring Sporting down from his €100m release clause, which he himself confessed is pretty steep, but looking more worth biting the bullet for with each passing week in which he tears some poor Portuguese outfits limb from limb. United, despite already spending nine figures on tall but ineffective strikers, are also in the mix.
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AFPOusmane Diomande
In a world where the imposing, unusually tall and powerful centre-back is in vogue again, Ousmane Diomande is becoming hot property. The Ivory Coast international is still only 20 but brings the physicality and brutishness of a veteran defender who has been scarred by the battles of deep European runs and emboldened by life-changing victory.
Don’t let the armour of his bulky exterior fool you, though; Diomande is still a modern player in his own right capable of bringing the ball out from the back and defending in wide areas, a man who can do it all.
Diomande has been a regular in transfer gossip columns over the last 12 months, with Arsenal and Chelsea the two clubs most commonly tipped with an interest. He certainly fits what the Gunners want as a natural third-choice behind William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, while he would be the central figure to any defence built by Enzo Maresca over at Stamford Bridge.
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AFPGoncalo Inacio
Alongside Diomande in Sporting’s three-man defence has often been Goncalo Inacio, who has amassed 186 appearances for the senior side by age 23 and is now a regular in the Portugal setup. Like his Ivorian team-mate, he is the perfect blend of physically dominant and technically gifted, making him the ideal contemporary centre-back.
Amorim’s tactics and Inacio’s own capabilities mean he can drift into the wide left channel and step into midfield in equal measure. On paper, he should be able to take to any league and system with grace and ease.
United are one of several big boys who have previously been linked with Inacio, though they already have Lisandro Martinez as a crucial left-sided centre-back to play that role under Amorim. Elsewhere, Liverpool are said to have looked at Inacio as a long-term successor to Virgil van Dijk, and with good cause.
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AFPGeovany Quenda
From the academy that brought you Cristiano Ronaldo comes 17-year-old Geovany Quenda, already under the watchful eye of United’s scouts having got their man and his manager in Amorim.
It’s hard for any homegrown winger coming through in Lisbon not to draw comparisons with CR7, but Quenda is a different sort of wide-man, one who comes in off the right onto his left foot and burns defenders with searing pace.
United’s frontline definitely needs a leftie to balance their attack, and could also spell the end of Antony. With Amorim already familiar with Quenda’s game, it does seem like a no-brainer for the Red Devils, doesn’t it?
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AFPMorten Hjulmand
Yes, it’s that handsome bloke who scored for Denmark against England at Euro 2024, the one who walked all over the star-studded midfield of Declan Rice and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
As it turns out, he’s a pretty good footballer at club level as well. Hjulmand replaced the hole left by Manuel Ugarte at Sporting last summer and proved an immediate upgrade in holding midfield, playing a starring role in their title victory.
Shockingly, United have also been credited with an interest in Hjulmand, and at this point in the article we’re questioning why INEOS don’t simply buy Sporting as a club altogether if they love them so much. Tottenham were linked as well, before revelations came out that he has an Arsenal tattoo. Oops.
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AFPMarcus Edwards
One player not totally beyond Spurs’ reach though is academy graduate Marcus Edwards, who scored on his return to N17 (obviously) in their Champions League matchup late in 2022.
Tottenham’s interest in bringing Edwards back to north London emerged before the 2024 summer window when they were mulling over plans to boost their homegrown quota, though ultimately decided against a pursuit of the 25-year-old.
However, Ange Postecoglou’s men are in need of another left-footed attacker following Dejan Kulusevski’s reinvention as a midfielder, and Edwards already boasts a fantastic understanding with former Sporting team-mate Pedro Porro. Don’t be surprised if the man once tipped as a mini-Lionel Messi by Mauricio Pochettino follows the path back to Tottenham in the near future.
