Man City, United And Arsenal All Have Porto Star ‘On Their Watchlists’ – Report
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A battle could be brewing between Man City, Man United and Arsenal for Porto right-back Alberto Costa, according to reports.
Fussball-news.de claim that the three Premier League clubs have the Portuguese defender “on their watchlists”.
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No team has so far submitted a formal offer for Costa, but he is firmly on the radar ahead of the January transfer window.
City, United and the Gunners are all considering whether to reinforce their options on the right-hand side of defence.
What do Man City fans need to know about the player?
Costa started out in FC Tirsense’s academy before he joined Vitoria Guimaraes’ youth ranks. He made his senior debut for their B team in April 2022, playing the full 90 minutes during a 1-0 defeat to Torreense. He would go on to make his first appearance for the first team against Penafiel in the Portuguese Cup less than two years later.
The fullback had only just established himself as a regular starter during the first half of the 2024/25 season when Juventus paid €14m to secure his services in January 2025.
Costa made his debut as a late substitute against Empoli in the quarter-final of the Coppa Italia, but that would be just one of 14 appearances he made for the Serie A giants before he returned to Portugal, with Porto paying €16m to secure his services in the summer of 2025.
His first season at the Estadio do Dragao went extremely well, helping his side win the Liga Portugal title, having scored 1 goal and contributed 9 assists in 29 league appearances.
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Why are City keen on signing Costa?
Right-back has been a problem position for the club for several seasons, and Director of Football Hugo Viana appears to be eyeing a move for a player he knows well from his time as sporting director at Sporting Lisbon.
The fact that Costa isn’t even a fully-fledged Portuguese international may raise questions about his suitability to be a regular starter, but it may simply be the case that City are looking to bring in a squad option to help out the likes of Matheus Nunes.