The Portugal and FC Porto player continues to be linked with a £20million-plus move to Andre Villas-Boas’s Tottenham Hotspur but two, three, even four years ago it seemed he was on his way to Everton.
He was the subject of one of the most protracted transfer dealings of the summer as Andre Villas Boas chased in vein to bring the Portuguese international to White Hart Lane. The two openly courted with each other all through the summer and even after the window closed Joao Moutinho made his obvious admiration for his countryman known:
‘’Tottenham is not in my head now, although I was flattered by the interest, especially by the coach. Andre Villas-Boas is one of the best coaches in Europe.’’
But this all has a familiar ring to it as the talented midfielder has certainly been linked with one club in particular for a long time. The club in mind are Everton who chased the Portuguese midfielder for two seasons while he was at former club Sporting Lisbon.
You go back two years’ time and The Toffees were heavily committed to bringing in the playmaker with the major difference being his relative inexperience at international level and the effect that has seemingly had on his price-tag.
Back then the quote was £17 million, too much for coveting Evertonian eyes, who had made separate bids of £11.8 million and £13 million in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Everton were one of many clubs who had realised the early potential in the young talent before the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur came seriously knocking on the door.
One person however who did value Moutinho was Andre Villas Boas who snapped up the Sporting Lisbon captain in one of the most controversial transfers in Portuguese history.
Moutinho had made his intentions to play in England clear and Sporting were more than happy to allow his move to the Premier League for a fair fee. Instead AVB snapped him up for £11 million; a cut-price deal considering the process being quoted now. His move to Porto was described as ‘deplorable’ by the Sporting director Jose Bettencourt, and to this day fans of the Verde-e-Brancos have a bitter resentment to his presence in their rival’s famous Azuis-e-Branco.
Porto are after well over £20 million for the player which surely prices Everton out of a deal for the 26-year-old. Tottenham however if serious about bringing in the diminutive midfield maestro will need to be sharp, as Joao Moutinho is not a man who is afraid to upset people.
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