Best players to move from the Primeira Liga to the Premier League

Viktor Gyokeres looks like he'll be a Premier League player next season, though his specific destination remains up in the air.

Both Manchester United and Arsenal have been strongly linked with the Swede, and it appears he'll be at one of the two clubs come August.

There has been plenty of discourse around the scalability of Gyokeres’s performances in Portugal and whether or not he’ll be able to come close to replicating his goalscoring form should he move to the Premier League, and while there haven’t been all that many centre forwards signed by Premier League clubs from Portugal who’ve been a roaring success, there have been plenty of top quality players elsewhere on the pitch.

Below, we look at the top 10 players signed by Premier League clubs from Portugal's Primeira Liga.

10 – Raul Jimenez (Benfica to Wolves)

In his four years in Europe, Raul Jimenez had never started more than eight games across spells with Atletico Madrid and Benfica.

Nevertheless, Wolves were happy enough with a loan deal for a striker who’d scored a decent 0.6 goals per 90 as a bit-part player in Portugal, and were delighted with the impact he made.

Jimenez was given a new lease of life in the Premier League, bullying defenders as his 13 goals helped the club to European football, following that up with 17 more the following season.

A serious head injury that jeopardised his career undoubtedly took its toll long after the recovery was complete, but now in his 30s, Jimenez appears to be enjoying something on an Indian summer, scoring 12 goals last season for Fulham.

9 – Pedro Porro (Sporting CP to Tottenham)

Signing a full-back for around £40m will always bring plenty of attention to a player, and Pedro Porro hardly got off to the most convincing start in a Spurs shirt.

But the Portuguese quickly grew into the league establishing himself as a reliable first-choice right-back for Tottenham.

While Porro is solid enough defensively, going forward is where he really shines, recording 24 goal contributions in 83 Spurs games, now recognised as one of the league’s best full-backs.

8 – Nani (Sporting CP to Manchester United)

If Manchester United signing an inexperienced winger with a box of tricks from Sporting CP sounds familiar, it’s because they did it twice.

Signed as Cristiano Ronaldo’s understudy, Nani was capable of lighting Old Trafford up with spectacular goals and even more spectacular celebrations.

It took a few years for Nani to establish himself as a first-team regular, but when he did he repaid Sir Alex Ferguson’s faith in him with 23 goal contributions in 2010/11 and 18 in 2011/12.

7 - Luis Diaz (Porto to Liverpool)

With Tottenham strongly linked with Luis Diaz, Liverpool were forced to swoop in earlier than planned to sign the Colombian from Porto in January 2021.

Being asked to replace Sadio Mane was a near-impossible task, but Luis Diaz has largely held down the left wing for four years at Anfield with 44 goal contributions in 103 games.

Reports suggest Diaz will be on the move in the summer; if he does go, he'll leave Liverpool having won all three domestic trophies and reached a UEFA Champions League final.

6 – Ederson (Benfica to Manchester City)

After making just 37 appearances for Benfica, Pep Guardiola felt Ederson was ready to be his number one.

One of the biggest issues in Guardiola’s first season was the lack of a top quality goalkeeper. Guardiola was split between Claudio Bravo and Willy Caballero, neither of whom were anywhere near good enough. The signing of Ederson changed all that.

While the Brazilian’s shot stopping might not be elite, he’s supremely confident on the ball, and has been a key cog for Guardiola in implementing his philosophy at the Etihad.

Ederson has now spent eight seasons in Manchester and won six league titles.

5 – Ricardo Carvalho (Porto to Chelsea)

While his more blood-and-thunder defensive partner may have taken the plaudits, Ricardo Carvalho is not just one of the best centre-backs of the Premier League era, but one of the best of his generation.

A graceful and elegant centre-back, Carvalho perfectly complemented John Terry’s more traditional approach to defending. Despite only being 6ft tall, Carvalho was rarely found wanting in the air and was a superb tackle.

In addition to his strong heading and tackling, Carvalho had immaculate reading of the game, and you could probably count on one hand the number of times he was caught out of position in his six years at Chelsea.

4 – Nemanja Matic (Benfica to Chelsea)

The decision to splash out £21m on a player they let leave for Benfica just two years earlier raised plenty of eyebrows at the time, but Nemanja Matic’s return to Chelsea was hugely successful.

In his three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, Matic established himself as one of the best – if not the best – holding midfielders in the Premier League, being named in the PFA Team of the Year in Chelsea’s 2015/16 title-winning season.

After Jose Mourinho was named manager of Manchester United in 2017, one of his first moves was to bring Matic with him for £40m.

3 – Ruben Dias (Benfica to Manchester City)

When it’s come to bolstering the defence in the Pep Guardiola era, Manchester City haven’t been afraid to splash the cash, with the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones all arriving for £50m+.

While each have shone in their own way, Dias is the biggest hit of them all. While Manchester City defenders don’t typically have that much defending to do, you’re never left with the impression that Dias would struggle at a smaller club.

While he’s as comfortable in possession as you need to be in a Guardiola side, he’s also a formidable defender, strong in the tackle and in the air, and has been the Premier League’s second best centre-back for a number of years.

2 – Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP to Manchester United)

It wasn’t unfair to question whether Bruno Fernandes’s output at Sporting CP could be replicated in the Premier League, with 67 goal contributions in 83 games, but the attacking midfielder was an instant hit at Old Trafford.

Fernandes wasn’t overawed by the shirt or the club; he immediately became United’s talisman, running himself into the ground and establishing himself as the team’s primary goalscoring outlet.

While he’s not had the required supporting cast in recent years to fully maximise his talents, Fernandes’s numbers at a struggling side that has often been in transition are remarkable.

In his five-and-a-half seasons in England, Fernandes has 113 goal contributions in 195 games and has been the fans’ Player of the Year four times.

1 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Sporting CP to Manchester United)

Who else? With David Beckham sold to Real Madrid, Manchester United were after a new right-winger. Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance in a pre-season friendly against United was enough to convince a number of his opponents that day to knock on Sir Alex Ferguson’s door.

The Red Devils signed Ronaldo who showed plenty of potential in his first three years at Old Trafford before exploding into life in the 2006/07 season. Jeered at every ground in the country for his antics in team-mate Wayne Rooney’s dismissal at the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo seemed to thrive on the animosity, helping United to a first league title since 2003.

2008 was Ronaldo’s peak, scoring 31 goals in 34 games as United won the Premier League and UEFA Champions League with the Portuguese scoring the opening goal in the final.

Awarded the Ballon d’Or for his efforts, Ronaldo led United to another UEFA Champions League final in 2009 before being sold for a world record fee to Real Madrid that summer.