Silas and the German harassment of Francisco Conceicao: “There aren't many like him” – FC Porto

The 47-year-old believes the Porto winger is ready for a new adventure abroad.

In conversation with registerThe Portuguese coach Silas considered that the player is “ready” for a new experience abroad. “He proved his worth last season both in the championship, in the Champions League, and now in the European Championship. There are not many players like him,” he said. However, he also would not look “badly” at a possible continuity in the blue and white team, to make it clear that he has the “constancy” required to play at the highest level.

For former Mafra coach Francisco Conceicao “there is something that has been lost over the years”, but he is slowly returning to football. “He is a pure winger, with strong dribbling and attacking defenders. Now a few players have appeared like Yamal, Nico Williams and Saka. The reappearance of these players is crucial, because they are very useful in dismantling any defence”, says the technician.

At this stage, the Bundesliga seems the most likely destination for the young winger, but Silas believes that might not be the best fit. “In Germany, football is very fast, with a lot of transitions. He will have a lot of space and a lot of 1-1 situations, and that is where he stands out. However, I think there are other leagues that are more attractive.” For him, La Liga, for example, is a more technical league and I think he will do well there, even because of the language itself.

The former Sporting coach highlights that the language issue is crucial for the young player's adaptation and recalls Francisco Conceicao's time in Holland when he played for Ajax. “I think he didn't have the patience to adapt to the country, and when you don't understand what they say it's more complicated. A league where the language is more similar would help.”

Once the winger leaves, the Dragons could have a hard time finding a replacement and compare the situation to the departure of Luis Díaz to Liverpool in 2022. “Porto already suffered a bit when Luis Díaz left. These types of players are capable of attracting rabbits. “It's not easy to find him. Francisco opens up a lot of games. There's Pepe, but he doesn't have those characteristics as much and I think he performs better in the middle, but they need that very attacking full-back, which they don't have at the moment, they will have to look for one or two players for sure.” Gonçalo Borges and Gabriel Verón are the players “most similar” to the son of the former Porto coach, but both are still “far from being ready” to replace him.

Having already made his mark in Germany, serving the national team, Francisco Conceicao will be able to continue doing so next season. Interestingly, the young winger's goal at Euro 2024 came at the home of RB Leipzig, the club currently leading the race for his signature.

Donkey: Al