Porto: The Dragons carry on as normal to survive through the lunacy

Hector Herrera

Combative midfielder Steven Defour was highly regarded across Europe, even receiving close overtures from Manchester United before Porto lured him from Standard Liege for as little as £5.2 million in 2011.

Lucho Gonzalez, sold to Marseille in 2009 for €18 million, arrived back to the Dragao in the January of 2012 on a free deal. He is now manager Paulo Fonseca’s captain and the current indictment of just how efficient Porto’s business can be.

With the money recouped from Moutinho and Rodriguez, Porto have headed to South America once again to sign Hector Herrera from Mexico’s CF Pachuca for £7.7 million, the box-to-box midfielder who will replace Moutinho. The 23 year old was named “Outstanding Player of the Tournament” in 2012?s Toulan Tournament and he also won gold with Mexico at last year’s Olympic Games in London.

Rodriguez’s attacking winger mantle will be assumed by Juan Quintero, the 20 year old Colombian who arrives from Pescara of Italy’s Serie B. Quintero is a left-footed, near-replica of the departing Rodriguez who combines high balance, agility and speed to draw comparisons to Lionel Messi.

He was voted MVP of the South American Youth Championships as Colombia triumphed earlier in the year and has been named by the Times as one of the most coveted talents in Europe. An extremely bright future awaits and his progress will be reaped by Porto, who paid a typically shrewd £4.4 million for his services.

Fonseca has also been busy bolstering his squad with the bargain basement signings of goalkeeper Sinan Bolat from Standard Liege on a free, whilst attacking trio Nabil Ghilas, Carlos Eduardo and Ricardo Pereira have arrived for a total of just over £3 million.

Diego Reyes, an intelligent centre-half, comfortable in possession with 7 caps for Mexico by the age of 20, will add solidity and cover to the back for a fee of £6.1 million. Even with huge amounts of money available to him, Fonseca has not abandoned the austere philosophy that has served Porto so well over the past decade.

With even French football tapping into the madness of over-inflated transfers and incomprehensible fees, Portuguese football refuses to join in, instead continuing with what its clubs know best; meticulous scouting and an enthusiasm for unearthing the most promising of gems from South America and beyond.

Porto have shown they are the trailblazers and will go on the hunt for a fourth successive Liga Sagres as well as another probable journey to the knockout stages of the Champions League. All by showing you don’t need megalomaniac owners armed with buckets of money to do it.