Major Setback for Arsenal and Manchester United as PSG Steal Vitinha

Vítor Machado Ferreira, popularly known as Vitinha, is reportedly a transfer target for Manchester United and Arsenal. FC Porto are willing to sell the midfielder, but only at their asking price. Nevertheless, PSG are now set to beat the Premier League teams, having triggered the player’s release clause.

Porto president Pinto da Costa has confirmed that the Portuguese midfielder was integral to the side winning the domestic double in the 2021/22 season, but are willing to let the player leave this summer. The club have already rejected a very good bid for Vitinha this summer.

The 22-year-old’s performances have attracted interest from Premier League teams like West Ham, Leeds United, Everton and Newcastle United, who are all fighting for his signature. After an unsuccessful spell at Wolves in the 2020-21 campaign, with just a goal and an assist in 22 games, he returned to Portugal. This season he has racked up 47 appearances for the Primeira Liga side across all competitions (stats via Transfermarkt).

His release clause stands at €40m for any club that is thinking about securing his signature. He has also become a regular member of the Portugal national squad after chipping in with four goals and five assists for Porto in the recently concluded campaign.

According to Portuguese outlet Record (via The Faithful MUFC), Arsenal were willing to battle it out with Manchester United to sign Vitinha this summer. Both the teams were looking to lure the 22-year-old, but seem to have failed.

As reported by 90min, in a major setback for Arsenal and Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain have managed to steal Vitinha from under their noses by activating his release clause of €40m. The report states that the Portuguese midfielder have reached an agreement on personal terms and will sign a five-year contract at the Parc des Princes.

Paris Saint-Germain have reached an agreement on personal terms with Portuguese midfielder Vitinha. He’s Luís Campos priority for the midfield – talks now in progress with Porto. 🚨🇵🇹 #PSG

He’s considered a “top player” for present and future by PSG. More to follow soon. pic.twitter.com/i6LHXU9zDB

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 17, 2022

Player Profile

Vitinha was signed by Wolves on loan from FC Porto in 2020 but he failed to meet the standards of ex-manager, Nuno Espirito Santo. So Wolves board decided to not activate their 16-million-pound buy option. The young midfielder is a creative passer and a key contributor in attack as he provides the through ball either directly into the penalty area or around the box for wingers and strikers to finish the move.

He has wonderful spatial orientation and can receive the ball in tight spaces of midfield clusters. The player also has several variations of passing which is a major asset for FC Porto in terms of attacking. He is the creative spark from deep positions and also makes his presence felt further forward in the half-spaces. The Portuguese international likes to play in a double pivot which would have been ideal for Arsenal as he could be deployed alongside Thomas Partey.

Vitinha also shines during the defensive phase of play and is a massive contributor when his team is out of possession. According to Statsbomb, he registers 3.4 tackles per 90 minutes, accompanied by 2.5 interceptions per 90. He commits defensively and runs vigorously to retrieve the ball whenever necessary. However, he is still an inexperienced player and must develop in certain areas in this respect.

According to Total Football Analysis, the Portuguese can operate deeper and is used as a tempo setter, who can change the point of attack and accelerate the build-up at his will. He gets up and down the pitch and contributes defensively like an 8 while he can also act as a number 10 and create chances in the final-third and facilitate attacks at the very least. He is a jack of all trades and a manager like Mikel Arteta should be happy if he can procure Vitinha’s services and apply his skillset in the midfield.

United already have a plethora of Portuguese players and the youngster Vitinha also fits Erik ten Hag’s style of play. The Dutchman has lost the likes of Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic from his midfield and in such a scenario, he would be an ideal signing.

At the Emirates, Arteta was mainly targeting Yves Bissouma but the Mali international has joined Tottenham Hostpur and therefore, he was pushing to sign Vitinha. However, PSG have beaten the Premier League teams to his signature by triggering the release clause for the Porto man.

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