Porto confirm £34million sale of midfielder Fabio Vieira to Arsenal
Porto have confirmed the deal to sell midfielder Fabio Vieira to Arsenal for £34m including add-ons.
The 22-year-old Portuguese is the Gunners’ third summer arrival, after goalkeeper Matt Turner and Brazilian forward Marquinhos. Arsenal will pay £30m up front plus £4m in performance-related add-ons.
Vieira won the player of the tournament award at last year’s European U21 Championship.
Vieira will add further creative talent to Arsenal’s ranks, with the highly-rated midfielder having laid on a league-high 14 assists in the 2021/22 Primera Liga campaign.
“The club informs the market that it has reached an agreement with Arsenal FC for the signing, on a permanent basis, of Fabio Vieira for the amount of 40million Euros,” read a Porto statement.
Arsenal are yet to announce the signing but Vieira was understood to have been in north London on Thursday for a medical.
Mikel Arteta is expected to continue to push for further summer recruits at Arsenal, with Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus heavily linked to an Emirates Stadium switch and Leicester’s Youri Tielemans another target.
Vieira scored six league goals for Porto in 15 starts last season and has scored 13 goals in 21 appearances for Portugal U21s.
‘The numbers do not lie’
Analysis by Portuguese football expert Pedro Sepulveda:
We are talking about a player who plays on the right wing and he uses his game to move from the wing to the middle. But he can easily play in other places like the left wing and as an offensive midfielder, a No 10, as he is not that fast. But he has a lot of flexibility with the ball and very good positioning without the ball as well.
Many people in England are maybe asking why Arsenal are paying that money for a player who was not always in the Porto XI, but if you look at the numbers, they do not lie – he played 39 games for Porto last season, with seven goals and 16 assists.
If you look at the goals he scored, they were all in important matches. He scored against Sporting, the champions from the previous season, and against Benfica, Porto’s other great rival. And the time he was on the pitch, he was making great performances, including in the Champions League too.
Sky Sports News reporter Mark McAdam on Fabio Vieira:
He is very highly rated and this can be seen as a really exciting move in the transfer window for Mikel Arteta.
He’s 22 years old, technically very gifted so he fits in with the Arsenal mould of players. He has great movement, very graceful on the ball, he wants to get on it.
He plays really as a No 8, he has played out wide as a winger or as a false nine, but playing at the heart of midfield is where he’s at his best.
He’s been described to me by a Premier League recruitment scout as a lovely footballer, someone great on the eye and would love to have in your side.
Six goals in 15 starts for Porto this season, 13 goals in 21 games for Portugal U21s – that tells you all you need to know about the type of midfielder he is.
