FC Porto: Sacrificing their youth to salvage the present - wise necessity or reckless short-termism?
Porto’s approach to this transfer window has divided a fanbase as the hierarchy opt to try and protect their most valuable senior assets in favour of keeping some of their youngest stars.
Already the highly rated duo of Fabio Silva and Vitinha have departed the club, joining the Portuguese contingent in Wolverhampton, while Afonso Sousa has moved to Belenenses. Then there’s Diogo Leite, who has been widely linked with a move to Valencia, while both Tomas Esteves and Diogo Queiros are also reportedly set for a move.
All these players share one major accomplishment with one another - they were all part of the generation of Porto youngsters that helped the Portuguese club to a stunning UEFA Youth League title in 2019 - becoming the first ever Portuguese side to win the youth equivalent of the Champions League.
Porto’s academy was therefore flourishing, and their future looked secured. With some of the brightest and most promising players from the country on their books, Porto had an exciting collection of players emerging and on the cusp of breaking into the senior team - but that could be, within a single window, abruptly dismantled.
Should sacrificing the future of the club allow Porto to keep hold of some of their current stars - the likes of Jesus Corona, Alex Telles, Otavio, Danilo Pereira and Moussa Marega - it could be deemed a trade worth making, with Porto maintaining a competitive squad that can push Benfica for this year’s Primeira Liga title.
Porto will also be aware that the next batch of young stars to emerge through the youth academy should not be too far behind, with Porto’s youth setup one of the most prestigious and reputable in the world. Talent should never be in short supply when it comes to their academy.
At the same time, youth can also be a major asset, and to be letting them depart so soon could also be seen as a deterrant for future youth products, who will see what is currently occuring and feel that they may never get the chance to play for Porto under the current transfer policy. That may be a blow to confidence, and to the determination of the youngsters, who feel that regardless of how well they do, they may never get the chance to play for their boyhood club regularly.
After all, if many members of Porto’s best ever young generation never got a real chance to play for the Portuguese champions, what hope do they have?
Ultimately, Porto are in need of significant income; if they had the choice, the likes of Fabio Silva and Vitinha, who would have been happy to stay at the club, never would have been sold. But their financial situation meant that it was seen as a necessity.
Should they have looked to sell their senior assets instead, allowing their young stars to integrate into the first team and become a major part of the side moving forwards? That’s certainly debatable.
