Sitting fourth in the Premier League, few can contest Aston Villa's success this season. Unai Emery's men have defied the odds to keep pace with the big boys whilst continuing to compete in Europe. Now with the transfer window on the horizon, NSWE are desperate to make sure this season is not a one-off.
Villa's Portuguese scouting mission
After acquiring 46 percent of Vitoria Sport Clube back in February 2023, Portuguese football is far from unchartered territory for the Villa owners. With a keen interest in the region, it is now suggested that club officials have made the journey south to watch one of the league's top sides and keep an eye on potential signings.
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According to Sport Witness, Villa are interested in signing players from Portugal with club officials attending multiple FC Porto games in recent weeks. Whilst extensive scouting networks are nothing new in the modern game, the report claims NSWE have someone specific in mind – although they could not identify who.
Reports out of Portugal state that officials from the West Midlands outfit watched Porto's recent victories over Arsenal and Benfica. The former saw the home side cause a 1-0 upset against the Gunners, whilst Sunday's top of the table clash with Benfica saw Porto run away 5-0 winners.
With little certainty as to who Villa officials are keeping tabs on, reports out of a local outlet in Porto have suggested a couple of names that could be on their radar.
Local reports suggest two targets for Villa
Whilst local paper O Jogo has no concrete information on who Villa were scouting, they do suggest that Porto talents Galeno and Alan Varela could be on the club's radar. Varela is a midfielder who is at his best with the ball at his feet. A passing maestro who puts in the dirty work too, he could be the perfect replacement if Douglas Luiz is to depart this summer.
Non-Penalty Goals
0.12
74th percentile
Passes Attempted
66.65
89th percentile
Pass Completion %
87.3
90th percentile
Interceptions
1.11
64th percentile
Blocks
1.73
86th percentile
Whilst Varela's quality is clear, Galeno was arguably the stand out of the two games, scoring the only goal in the win over Arsenal as well as a brace at the weekend.
Galeno's stats for season have seen him provide 12 goals and 10 assists in just 35 games. With five of his goals coming in the Champions League, he is clearly a player built for the big stage that could be a huge asset to Emery's side. A winger with an eye for a goal would shift some of the scoring onus off Ollie Watkins and benefit the entire team as a result.
Whatever Villa's Portuguese excursion may bring, they are not watching these games for no reason and fans can expect the Villans to continue to pursue their targets.