Tag: Porto FC

Tottenham are reportedly trying to land Mehdi Taremi from Porto

By RYAN TAYLOR – The Daily Express
UPDATED: 16:44, Sat, Aug 5, 2023

Tottenham are reportedly trying to land Mehdi Taremi from Porto
Super-agent Jorge Mendes is ‘on the ground’ negotiating the potential transfer of Porto striker Mehdi Taremi to Tottenham, according to reports in Portugal. The Iranian is the subject of shock talks with Spurs and that would suggest Daniel Levy is exploring the prospect of adding attacking reinforcements to Ange Postecoglou’s squad as the uncertainty surrounding Harry Kane’s future threatens to rumble on.

But there has now been a surprise twist after it emerged Tottenham were looking into a surprise swoop for 31-year-old Taremi.

According to Record in Portugal, Mendes is working on bringing the Iran international to north London for Levy and Co.

Tottenham are reportedly prepared to pay £21m for Taremi and hopes they can shake off competition from the likes of AC Milan for the player.

Porto are looking for at least £26m, however, and even still are reluctant to lose their star man so close to the start of a new season.

Taremi is mindful that this could be his last chance to play in the Premier League as he approaches the latter stages of his career.
There has already been interest from England this summer from Sean Dyche’s Everton.

However, the offer was of little interest to Taremi, who recently told Varzesh3: “Now there is an opportunity, but even now, for example, Everton’s offer doesn’t interest me.”

He also claims he had the chance to join Newcastle back in 2021 but he instead opted to play Champions League football with Porto.

Taremi continued: “I have had an offer from Newcastle but I rejected their offer because we were in the Champions League and I could play against teams like Liverpool, AC Milan, and Atletico Madrid.

“I preferred to stay at Porto because Newcastle were fighting to remain in the Premier League and I didn’t think they could qualify for the UCL after their bad season.”

Spurs chairman Levy has now reportedly flown to the USA for a two-week holiday, which could scupper Bayern’s chances of landing Kane.

It has been suggested that the striker would favour staying in north London if a move hasn’t been resolved by the start of the new season next weekend.


Manchester United checking on Taremi

According to Portuguese outlet Jornal de Noticias, the Red Devils are believed to be keen on signing the 30-year-old this summer having been tracking his progress for an extended period of time, with the United boss said to appreciate the striker’s ‘qualities’.

The report adds that the 66-cap Iranian international could be available for as little as €20m (£17m) if he is to leave the Primeira Liga outfit over the coming weeks, with the experienced marksman having just a year left to run on his existing deal.

This comes amid the news that the Old Trafford outfit have also agreed a £60m fee with Chelsea for the signing of England playmaker, Mason Mount, with the club now turning their attention towards the acquisition of a new number nine – as well as a new goalkeeper.

Mehdi Taremi

The former Rio Ave machine may well be something of an unknown quantity to some European sides, although he has certainly proven his goalscoring credentials during his time in Portugal in recent years, scoring 80 goals in just 147 games for his current side.

That includes a standout haul of 31 goals and 14 assists in just 51 games in all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign, with that a better record than even United’s top scorer, Marcus Rashford achieved last season, with the Englishman bagging 30 goals and nine assists across all fronts.

The 6 foot 1 hotshot has also previously made his presence felt against English opposition after scoring a “ridiculous” overhead kick against Chelsea in the Champions League back in 2021 – as hailed by ex-Red Devils star, Rio Ferdinand – having also netted twice for his country against the Three Lions at the World Cup in Qatar.

While there may be concerns over the striker’s age – as he is set to turn 31 in just a few weeks’ time – that could make Taremi an ideal alternative to another potential short-term fix in the form of Harry Kane, with the Tottenham Hotspur talisman set to turn 30 at the end of the month.

The latter man has been heavily linked with a move to the Theatre of Dreams in recent times, although thus far there appears to be no sign that Ten Hag and co will be able to pull off a deal, amid Spurs’ apparent reluctance to sell.

With Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy also likely to demand £100m for the Englishman – despite having just 12 months left on his existing deal in north London – United could bring in a figure like Taremi for a fraction of that price tag instead.

It was in fact the Porto ace who enjoyed a more profitable 2022/23 season also, with Kane ‘only’ managing to register 37 goal involvements across all fronts, in contrast to the Iranian’s stellar tally of 45 goals and assists.

That would suggest that while the signing of Taremi would be an undoubted wildcard move for the Red Devils, it could well allow Ten Hag to find an ideal, bargain Kane alternative.

Medi Taremi registers another milestone.

Porto FC and Team Melli forward scored four goals, a (poker), in the match held late Saturday evening against middle-of-the-table team Famalicao in Liga Portugal.

This is the first time an Iranian player has achieved such a milestone in a single match in any European League. Three of the goals came from the spot kick. The match ended 2-4 for Porto who has now reduced the deficit with the league leaders Benfica to one point only. Benfica, the favorites to win the title this season has a game in hand.

Taremi was substituted a minute before the regulation time to receive a standing ovation from the visiting Porto fans as they sang his name.

Taremi has enjoyed unprecedented success with Porto in his third season with the club which he joined in season 2020/21. He has also increased his goal tally to 21 goals to leapfrog Benfica’s striker Goncalo Ramos who is on 18 goals, Taremi first played for Rio Ave which he joined in 2019 for one season. He scored 18 goals and provided 2 assists for the small club a fact that caught the interest of the 3 top clubs in Portugal. He was on the brink of agreeing terms with Benfica before Porto stepped in with a lucrative offer.

In his first season with Porto, Mehdi Taremi scored 16 goals, next season he was on 20 goals. So far this current season he has already surpassed those records with 21 goals and one match left.

The result of Porto match and Taremi’s hat-trick are under investigation!

In the 30th round of the Portuguese Football League, Porto managed to defeat Portimonense 7-0 a result that solidified the leadership of Porto at the top of the table. In that match, Mehdi Taremi, Team Melli and Porto striker, and Payam Niazmand, the Iranian goalkeeper of Portimonense, faced each other for the first time as bother were in the starting lineups. Taremi scored a hat trick in that match and provided one assist to endure terrible suffering on his Team Melli teammate Niazmand. It was indeed quite a bitter experience for Niazmand in one of the few times that he was picked up as a starter for his team.

 The events of that match, however, raised quite a few questions and concerns with some allegations of complicity, betting, and bribery being mentioned.  The large victory margin and the social media activities on the match prompted the disciplinary committee of the Portuguese Football Federation to act and begin its own investigation into this result, which is questioned even by the media. All the attention on the result of that defeat is being focused on  Paulo Sérgio, the head coach of Portimonense, who did not play many of his fixed players against Porto, and even his substitutions were suspect as he sent players with little experience on to the field some who had only played a handful of games for the club.

Sergio, of course, reacted sharply to the decision to investigate the result of the game with Porto. “What they are doing is insulting me,” he said yesterday. “I have already said everything I should have said about this.” He added: “You can see that our substitution bench (due to the absence of a large number of players) was not even full. With two goalkeepers, there was still room for others on the bench. Just look at the players I had on the bench to see what I had for that match.”

The head coach of Payam Niazmand emphasized: “I have children, I have parents, I have a family and it is a shame for me to see that my name is associated with such trepidations.

Paulo Sérgio Bento Brito coached in Iran and was the head coach of Sanat Naft Abadan between July 2018 and May 2019 when he left for the Saudi club Al Taáwon before returning to Portugal to coach Portimonense in February 2020.

Meanwhile, Portimonense SAD club considers that the investigation process opened by the Disciplinary Board, on suspicion of fielding a weakened team in the game against FC Porto, at Estádio do Dragão, “a fierce, merciless and unfounded attack on the club and recalls that, even this season, Belenenses SAD was allowed to face Benfica with a team of nine players only.”

In a long statement, the SAD of the Algarve club was surprised to have known about the investigation through the media and recalls that the club has “scrupulously” complied with its financial obligations.

Portimonense still considers it “absurdity” to open an investigation for the reasons presented in a season in which a team was already allowed to enter the field with nine players, in allusion to Belenenses vs. Benfica.

Taremi’s transfer to FC Porto is imminent

Despite the reports that Porto FC will announce the transfer of Mehdi Taremi on Monday, no such announcement came from the leading Portuguese club and the transfer still Hangs in Balance.

Alireza Samimi, goalkeeper of the Iranian futsal team and close friend of Mehdi  Taremi, assured, this Wednesday, that the future of the (still) Rio Ave player really passes through FC Porto.

“The transfer of Mehdi to Porto is final and I am satisfied with that because I also wished he would choose Porto”, confessed  Alireza Samimi, who also confirmed Benfica’s interest in his friend Taremi.

” Mehdi had two serious proposals, Benfica and FC Porto. I think FC Porto is bigger than Benfica. FC Porto also plays in the Champions League and have had better results,” he added.

The goalkeeper recalled that Taremi  “helped Rio Ave to achieve the best results in history”, but leaves a serious warning to his friend: “My personal opinion is that there are more stars in FC Porto, and Mehdi will have to work hard more to get a fixed place in the line up”.

Meanwhile, it is reported in Portugal that the Iranian player is scheduled to travel to Portugal on Sunday, to finalize his move to the Estádio do Dragão.

Monitored during the season by all the big three Portuguese clubs, the Rio Ave striker has chosen the blues and whites for believing that he can succeed in the Dragon.

In order to compete in the Champions League and also to assert himself in his selection, the striker is the promise of goals for the next season of the city club Invicta.

According to the newspaper O Jogo, Taremi should land in Porto in exchange for less than five million euros, and then sign a valid contract for the next seasons.

A big surprise from the last edition of the Portuguese championship, the Iranian scored 37 games and 21 goals for Rio Ave last season, showing a sharp talent when shooting at the opposite goal. Taremi is also the lead scorer for Team Melli.