Porto have announced the transfer of Fabio Vieira to Arsenal on a deal worth £34million.
An initial fee of £30m will be paid with a further £4m in add-ons to come. The 22-year-old is an exciting prospect and follows the acquisition of Brazilian forward Marquinhos as Mikel Arteta looks to strengthen his squad this summer. The midfielder has made 27 appearances in the Portuguese top flight last season, recording an impressive 14 assists and six goals to boot, adding to the creativity department at Arsenal.
A statement from the club said: "Futebol Clube do Porto - Futebol, SAD, under the terms of article 248 n1 of the Securities Code, hereby informs the market that it has reached an agreement with Arsenal FC for the assignment, on a definitive basis, of the sports registration rights of professional football player Fabio Vieira for 40M (forty million euros), of which 5M (five million euros) are dependent on the achievement of sporting objectives.
"It is further informed that the final agreement is still being finalized and is expected to be implemented in the next few days. The Board of Directors."
Vieira, who has made 21 appearances for Portugal Under-21, joined Porto's academy as a child back in 2008 and burst onto the senior scene in the 2020/21 campaign. He made 23 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals, after plying his trade with Porto B in the second tier.
But it was only this season when he fully announced himself on the European scene, making 39 appearances in all competitions to help his boyhood side win the league-cup double. He was named on the bench as Porto faced Liverpool twice in the Champions League group stage and made a substitute appearance in the 5-1 defeat by the Reds back in September.
Are you excited by Fabio Vieira's move to Arsenal? Have your say in the comments
Gunners hero Jack Wilshere discussed Vieira on Thursday evening, admitting he has not seen much of him but highlighting his "impressive" output. "I will be honest, I haven’t heard too much about him, the 30-year-old said of Vieira on talkSPORT, per Metro.
"I put him up on YouTube when I saw it. He looks good. Everyone looks good on YouTube. But he looks like he has got a bit. Six goals and 14 assists from midfield. That’s impressive. We all knew that Arsenal had to make some signings because they are in Europe.
"They need to get a bigger squad, so they are making moves, which is nice. They will know about him. Watched him, scouted him and looked at his numbers. Time will tell, so it could be a bargain."
