In the current squad of FC Porto, the current third-placed team in the Liga Portugal Betclic, there is a hard core of Brazilian players who managed to stand out in the European elite this year.
Names of the caliber of Wenderson Galeno, Otávio Ataíde, Wendell or Evanilson have been sounding throughout the season for their good performances, but one of them has caught the interest of a giant of Spanish football: Eduardo Gabriel Aquino Cossa, better known as Pepê.
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From Grêmio to Porto, Pepê’s path to the European elite
Currently, Pepê is a 27-year-old winger under contract until 2027 with FC Porto, the club he joined in the summer of 2021 from Grêmio. Despite having gone through the youth system at the tricolor team, Pepê passed through various juvenile clubs in Brazil before consolidating himself in the Porto Alegre team.
Formed at Athlético Paranaense, Pepê had a short stint at Foz do Iguaçu and Curitiba. In 2016, Grêmio acquired him for the equivalent of 125,000 euros and, after playing 144 games with the tricolor team, in which he scored 32 goals and provided 20 assists, he was bought by Porto for the not insignificant figure of 15.4 million euros.
With the Portuguese club, Pepê has already played 144 matches in which he has scored 19 goals and provided 26 assists, and this season is being one of his best at an individual level:
Pepê in the 2023/24 season
- MP: 47 matches
- GOALS: 8
- ASSISTS: 10
- TOTAL: 18 G/A in 47 matches
Pepê, on Deco’s list to reinforce the Culé attack
According to the Catalan media outlet Mundo Deportivo, the Brazilian striker from Porto would be one of the low-cost options handled by Deco, Barcelona’s sporting director, to reinforce the Blaugrana squad in the upcoming transfer window.
The club would be following the steps of players of the caliber of Dani Olmo or Nico Williams, but their high valuation (around 60 million euros) seems to be prohibitive for the Culé squad.
Therefore, trusting to extract Pepê from Porto for around 25 million euros, the Brazilian is gaining ground and is being considered as a real option to reinforce Xavi’s project.
Pepê can play as a winger on both flanks, being right-footed and with experience in practically all offensive areas, could be a luxury reinforcement for the Culé attack if there are painful departures this summer.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
