Tottenham Hotspur are set to sign Pedro Porro and Ruben Amorim has said an emotional goodbye to the wing back.
Finally – mercifully – this transfer saga is finally about to end.
Tottenham have been chasing Sporting wing back Porro for weeks, even months at this stage.
A deal hasn’t been easy and it looked like Tottenham had hit a breakthrough last week.
Porro’s move was thrown into doubt on Monday with Sporting changing their terms at the last minute, leaving Porro ‘distraught’.
After plenty of haggling on Monday, Tottenham finally have a deal in place for Porro and he flew to England late on Monday.
The move will see Porro join Tottenham on loan for £5million with an obligation to buy him for £39million this summer.
Ruben Amorim reacts to Pedro Porro heading to Tottenham
Sporting are used to losing key players at this point.
Joao Palhinha and Matheus Nunes left over the summer and Sporting will now lose another star in Porro.
The 23-year-old leaves a big hole in the Sporting side, which may end up being filled by former Arsenal ace Hector Bellerin.
Sporting boss Ruben Amorim has now offered his reaction to Porro deciding to leave Lisbon for a move to London.
Amorim has told O Jogo that the departure of Porro hurts more than exits for Nunes and Nuno Mendes in years gone by.
Amorim talked up his personal relationship with Porro, but now accepts that he is ‘Conte’s son’, seemingly believing that a similar relationship awaits the Spaniard at Tottenham.
The Sporting boss added that he must move on without Porro, wishing him the best of luck with his move to Spurs.
“With regard to Porro, it’s more than what happened with Nuno Mendes, Matheus Nunes… More than the professional relationship, and of course they are missed, the personal relationship is something we are very sorry about. Our relationship is very close, he will be missed,” said Amorim. “In football we get used to change from a very young age. One day they are our children, our best friends, and now he is Conte’s son. If we play against him, I already know his difficulties.”
“We remain friends, I move on, now my favourites are others. My players are always the best in the world. Porro will be a player for another team and I wish them the best of luck,” he added.
Porro looks set to immediately become Tottenham’s first-choice right wing back.
Djed Spence is heading off on loan to Rennes with Matt Doherty set to pen a similar deal with Atletico Madrid.
Porro will now come in to battle with Emerson Royal, but the Spaniard will surely take the first-choice role under Conte.
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