Portuguese players who could be on the move this summer
The transfer window is open and rumours are swirling. And here's a list of eight Portuguese players that are likely to be on the move this summer.
The more pertinent and unpredictable question, however, is where to.
Andre Gomes
The Barcelona midfielder had a very strong season with Everton last term, and has well and truly rejuvenated his career. Just on the edge of making the Portugal squad for the Nations League, Gomes has made great strides at Everton having played 27 league games this season.
It seems West Ham are the club most actively pursuing the permanent signing of the 25-year old, looking to seal the deal for a fee in the region of £20million.
Everton will also have a big say though; should they match the bid of West Ham, they will likely entice their former player back to Goodison.
Tozé
A terrific season for the diminutive winger. Playing for Guimarães, Tozé managed to lead his side to a 5th place finish and "best of the rest" domestically.
His 9 league goals and 3 assists show some of the impact Tozé had at the club this season, and the 26-year old attacker is certainly something of a fan favourite.
However, Tozé's contract expires next month, allowing him to leave for free. Guimarães are still trying to tie him down to a longer deal, but with some clubs from both Turkey and Spain interested, he may be swayed to move on, with other sides sure to enter the race to sign the former Porto player too.
Bruno Fernandes
The Sporting attacking midfielder cemented a tremendous season for both his club and himself by lifting the Portuguese Cup and completing the domestic cup double, none more deserving than the Portuguese 24-year old.
Having contributed directly to 33 league goals in 33 games (20 goals, 13 assists), Fernandes is unsurprisingly linked with a big-money move to Manchester this summer.
Whether that will transpire remains to be seen, although it seems Portugal's best performing player of the season is just as likely to go as he is to stay, a great concern to Sporting fans who dread to think how this season would have gone without their talisman.
Andre Silva
Another forgettable season for Portugal's number one striker after a blistering start to the campaign.
The man Ronaldo envisages to be his successor for the Portugal national team, Silva will not be staying at Sevilla next season, while his parent club AC Milan also seem unlikely to want to keep him on.
It therefore means that Silva faces a big summer as agent Jorge Mendes looks for a club for his client.
He won't be short of suitors, although at what level will he end up playing at next campaign? Two clubs that seem most plausible due to their affiliations with Jorge Mendes are Wolves and Monaco, although the latter already have both Falcão and Jovetic in their ranks; you would expect that one of them would have to be sold for Silva to be brought in.
Ultimately, it remains unclear where the future lies for Andre Silva.
Renato Sanches
Another frustrating season for Renato Sanches, and one that led him to openly express the potential necessity of him moving on to get more game time.
Let this be a lesson to the likes of João Felix, Gedson Fernandes and Florentino Luis at Benfica; the grass is not always greener on the other side. With just 17 Bundesliga outings this season - only 3 of which were starts - it seems safe to say that Renato is not content with the game time he's currently getting.
He did score in the final game of the season off the bench in a 5-1 victory over Frankfurt, but ultimately Sanches should be looking to move on for the good of his career.
Were he to move or be loaned out, it could be to go pretty much anywhere. Another go in the English Premier League? A return to Benfica? A loan move to a more midtable Bundesliga club? It's difficult to say. But his movements are one to keep an eye on this summer.
João Mario
What with Inter Milan undergoing a change in management, it's difficult to ascertain where Mario stands in terms of his place in the squad.
However, previous manager Spalletti sent João Mario home a couple of weeks ago due to a lack of effort on the training ground.
This is paired with the fact that the 26-year old Portuguese international didn't feature in any of his side's last 4 league matches - and didn't start any of Inter's final 11 Serie A games either.
His future is certainly in doubt.
Cedric Soares
From João Mario we move onto one of his Inter teammates in Cedric Soares.
Cedric, on loan from Southampton, was brought in to the Italian giants to add more depth to the right back department and only played a bit part role, featuring in just 4 games in total, one of which was a minute-long cameo appearance against Parma in February.
He did a decent job in the matches he did feature in though, most notably in the outing against Chievo, and picked up two assists in as many games. Ultimately though, he spent most of this loan spell on the bench, and it seems unlikely that he'll remain at the Italian club next season.
Whether he'll then stay at Southampton, or move on, remains to be seen.
Adrien Silva
It's been a bit of a testing couple of years for Adrien Silva. After his deadline day move from Sporting to Leicester was blocked due to paperwork being sent 14 seconds late, he was stuck in limbo from August to January, unable to play any competitive games.
When he did eventually join Leicester, he found game time hard to come by, and ultimately saw himself fall down the pecking order, leading to his loan move to Monaco.
In France, he's done a good, even if unremarkable, job, getting regular game time, showing his work rate and tenacity in midfield as he helped guide the club to safety after they were embroiled in a shock relegation battle.
But whether he'll remain at Monaco next season remains to be seen; he could be part of a deal that sees Tielemans, who impressed at Leicester City in the second half of the season, move in the opposite direction, but his future is also one to keep an eye on.
Renato Sanches. Photo author: Светлана Бекетова. License link.
