Man United Ready to Meet £25m Asking Price for Talented Portuguese International Midfielder

Man United are lining up a £25m bid for FC Porto midfielder Joao Moutinho according to Portuguese sources  as Sir Alex Ferguson looks to bring in further signings to boost his Old Trafford squad.

 The talented Portuguese international may well be just the type of player the Scot is looking for to improve his somewhat rigid midfield and apparently Ferguson is willing to meet Porto’s asking price for the 25 year old.

 Having spent his formative years at Sporting Lisbon Moutinho left for arch rivals FC Porto in the summer of 2010, a move that was deemed fairly controversial and led to a great deal of anger from his former club and their supporters.

 Joao Moutinho has been a great success at the Estádio do Dragao, becoming a force in Andre Villas-Boas’s all conquering side of 2010/11 where he helped FC Porto to a domestic double and a Europa League triumph.

 The box to box midfielder then helped his side to retain their Primeira Liga title last term and then followed that success with a series of quality displays to help Portugal to the Euro 2012 semi-finals.

 Sir Alex Ferguson has been linked with a number of potential midfield additions, most notable among them being Man United’s pursuit of Brazilian Lucas Moura, but it appears that the Old Trafford boss is ready to once again look to bring in a player from the Portuguese top tier, where he has looked to sign players on many occasions previously.

 A move for extra midfield options could well be necessary given that Paul Scholes is clearly nearing the end of his Man United career and Anderson has failed to impress for the best part of two years.

 Michael Carrick, though effective last term, is also perhaps not as incisive a player as Ferguson is looking for to help add drive and purpose to his first team line-up.

Read more »

Fergie makes Moutinho move

The club are understood to have approached Porto with a view to signing their attacking midfielder.

 United are now preparing a £25million bid after getting fed up with Spurs’ demands for Luka Modric.

 we revealed last month that Modric was boss Alex Ferguson’s No 1 target and United were ready to bid £25m rising to £30m.

 But Spurs have now quoted £40m for the Croatian and United will not pay that.

 Moutinho, 25, would follow Ronaldo and Nani on the successful track from Portugal to Old Trafford. Spurs and Chelsea are also interested in the player, who this week praised Andre Villas-Boas.

 AVB is set to take over at White Hart Lane and was Moutinho’s old boss at Porto. But, despite that, Moutinho still prefers the move to United.

Read more »

Tottenham to Appoint Villas-Boas Before Launching Bids for Chelsea and FC Porto Stars

Andre Villas-Boas will make signing Porto star Joao Moutinho his No.1 target if he takes charge of Tottenham as expected next week. 

Villas-Boas is set to be confirmed as the new manager at Spurs, who sacked Harry Redknapp earlier this month. 

The 34-year-old has spoken with chairman Daniel Levy over his plans and ideas for the club as part of the interview process and knows that he will probably have to find a replacement for Luka Modric. Villas-Boas is believed to already have a replacement in mind and wants to be reunited with Moutinho. 

The former Chelsea coach signed Moutinho from Sporting Lisbon when he was Porto coach in 2010 and he played a key role in winning the Portuguese League and Cup, as well as the Europa League that season. 

Villas-Boas wanted to buy the Portugal international after he took charge of Chelsea last summer, but Porto refused to sell. 

It will still be difficult for Tottenham to prise Moutinho, who impressed for Portugal during their run to the semi-finals at Euro 2012, away as he has three years left on his contract. 

The 25-year-old also has a £35m buy-out clause, although Spurs will obviously be able to fund such a transfer should they receive a large fee for Modric. 

Villas-Boas will also consider making a move for Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge with the forward’s future at Stamford Bridge already uncertain, even before the potential arrival of Hulk.

Read more »

Portugal's 'new Deco' tempting Chelsesa

Euro 2012 hopefuls Portugal aren't short of attacking talent, and alongside the likes of Ronaldo and Nani, the Iberians can count on the abilities of highly-rated midfielder Joao Moutinho.

 With the versatile Porto man recently letting Chelsea know he's available, our transfer spotlight has everything you need to know about the Blues target...

 Name: Joao Filipe Iria Santos Moutinho Date of birth: September 8, 1986 Birthplace: Portimao, Portugal Position: Midfielder Club: Porto International appearances: 45 Honours: UEFA Europa League winner (2010-11), Portuguese Primeira Liga (2010-11, 2011-12).

What's the latest? Former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas was intent on brining Moutinho to Stamford Bridge, but after the Portuguese got the boot it looked like the Porto man's dream was over.

 Chelsea's interest was rekindled recently, however, when Moutinho announced he'd love a shot at the Premier League, letting the Blues know he's still around.

 Moutinho made more passes than any other Portugal player in their win over Denmark, and his stock is rising, so Chelsea should act fast if they want to pay less.

 Did you know? 1) Moutinho originally started out at home-town team Portimonense SC in the Algarve, but when the opportunity to move to Sporting Lisbon arose, his football-loving parents didn't think twice about relocating with the 13-year-old.

 2) Moutinho's time at the Sporting academy coincided with fellow graduates Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo. Other big names to learn their trade at Sporting include Simao, Ricardo Quaresma and Luis Figo.

 3) Moutinho followed in Ronaldo's footsteps by making his Sporting first-team debut at a young age, appearing as a 17-year-old in the 2004-05 pre-season. In 2005 he inherited Ronaldo's number 28 jersey.

 4) Moutinho is known for his versatility, and can play in a number of positions including defensive midfield, attacking midfield or on either flank.

 5) In 2008 Moutinho nearly made a move to Everton, but when the deal fell through he eventually transferred to Sporting's rivals Porto. Since then, he has been heavily criticised by his former club.

 He says “Every player wants to experiment with different leagues.


 Right now I'm happy because I'm playing in one of the biggest in Europe, but if a good opportunity arose we'd have to see.


 The Premier League? I can only say it's one of the best leagues in the world, but I haven't spoken with any club.”

Read more »