Ricardo Quaresma, Joao Mario, Roderick Miranda: some of the latest Portuguese transfers
With the transfer window approaching an end, some high-profile Portuguese players have been making late summer moves over the last week as August comes to a close.
One of the biggest stories of the last few days was that of Ricardo Quaresma. His relationship with those above at Besiktas was the source of great speculation throughout the summer, and it quickly became clear that he was very unlikely to remain at the club for the upcoming season.
It therefore came as little surprise that he left Besiktas on the 29th August - though the destination of the 80-time Portugal international was perhaps a little more unexpected.
Signing on a one-year deal, Quaresma joined fellow Turkish outfit - and Besiktas’ city rivals - Kasimpasa, the former Barcelona, Porto and Chelsea winger remaining in Turkey for the upcoming season, joining the side that finished 14th in the Turkish top slight last campaign.
And he has already made his debut for Kasimpasa, coming on as a half-time substitute in a 1-0 home defeat to Ankaragucu in the Turkish Super Lig, a result which leaves Kasimpasa second-bottom in the table with 1 point from 3 games.
The 36-year old Euro 2016 winner joins fellow Portuguse player Jorge Fernandes at Kasimpasa.
While Quaresma made the move across Istanbul, Joao Mario moved all the way across the continent. The former Sporting star, who joined Inter Milan for 40 million euros two years ago, has moved to the old stomping ground of Manuel Fernandes, joining Lokomotiv Moscow on a season-long loan, a deal that could be made permanent for a fee in the region of 25 million euros.
Like Quaresma, Mario has also already made his debut for his new side, coming on in the 29th minute of Lokomotiv’s 2-1 home defeat agaisnt FC Rostov in the Russian Premier League. While the result was not what Mario will have hoped for, he did make an impact at the club, getting the assist for Lokomotiv’s consolation goal.
One of the other more unusual moves of the last week, though, was Porto’s young centreback Diogo Queiros. The 21-year old, who is seen as one of Portugal’s future international defenders, led Portugal to both U17 and U19 European Championship titles, while he also captained Porto as they became UEFA Youth League champions for the first time last season.
However, he remains outside the plans of Sergio Conceicao, and instead was sent out on loan to Belgian outfit Mouscron.
Quieros has also already played for his new Belgian club, impressing manager Bernd Hollerbach in a 2-2 draw with Mechelen.
Another interesting move was that of Roderick Miranda. Out of favour at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the former Rio Ave centreback has returned to Portugal to join Famalicao for the upcoming campaign, having spent last season out on loan at Olympiakos.
His move continues a growing trend at Famalicao, who currently top the Portuguese Primeira Liga, as they sign yet another Jorge Mendes client. As a result, the newly-promoted side have assembled a very strong team that is more than capable of challenging for a 5th-place finish this season.
Portuguese-born Sporting left back Bruno Gaspar was also on the move, completing a move to Pedro Martins’ Olympiakos, joining the likes of Ruben Semedo and Daniel Podence at the Greek giants on a permanent deal.
Ricardo Quaresma. Photo author: Анна Нэсси. License link.
