Porto will now demand clubs pay the release clause of Chelsea transfer target Diogo Costa, according to Artur Fernandes.
The president of the Portugal National Agents’ Association said that, after the goalkeeper‘s display in Portugal’s penalty shootout win over Slovenia, his value has skyrocketed:
“When the tournament started, Diogo Costa was worth €50m. Now he’s worth €75m (£63.5m), the value of his release clause.”
Costa played a decisive role in Portugal’s victory, saving a one-on-one opportunity from Benjamin Sesko, as well as stopping three successive penalties in the shootout.
The Chelsea target earned praise from a former Blue
Speaking after the Portugal match on Monday, ex-Chelsea keeper Mark Schwarzer was full of compliments about Costa’s shot-stopping ability:
“Every one of them were top quality saves, it wasn’t as if they were bad penalties. They were brilliant, brilliant saves from the goalkeeper.”
Costa and his Portugal side will face France in the quarter-final of the European Championships on Friday night.
Is Costa being actively pursued by Chelsea?
Portuguese newspaper the Jornal de Noticias (via Sport Witness) reported on Wednesday that the Blues, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are “very attentive”. Whether that means any of them are prepared to trigger the 24-year-old’s release clause, it remains to be seen.
At the moment, head coach Enzo Maresca is said to be considering starting the season with Robert Sanchez in goal. The Spaniard lost his place to Djordje Petrovic midway through last season due to a knee problem.
However, Maresca believes he can mould Sanchez into a sweeper keeper, in the vein of Ederson or his former Leicester no.1 Mads Hermansen. Based on what we saw of the Spaniard’s kicking ability during his first campaign at Stamford Bridge, it is debatable whether that is really possible.
