Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has admitted that the subject of Pedro Porro’s future was discussed at the club prior to the full-back taking his talents to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
The name of Spanish talent Porro, of course, took its place front and centre in the English media headlines throughout the recently-closed January transfer window.
This came after the 23-year-old was identified as a prime target on the part of the powers that be at the aforementioned Tottenham.
Owing to the struggles of all of Emerson Royal, Matt Doherty and Djed Spence, Porro, widely considered one of world football’s best in his role, was earmarked as the ideal figure to take his place on the right of Antonio Conte’s back-five in north London.
A lengthy stretch of negotiations between the respective boards at Spurs and Sporting CP, as a result, followed.
And, in the end, with just hours remaining in the window, the former got their man.
✍️ We are pleased to announce the signing of Pedro Porro from Sporting CP.
Welcome to Spurs, @Pedroporro29_! 💙
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 31, 2023
Porro, in turn, is widely expected to slot straight into a starting role this weekend, as Tottenham prepare to welcome Premier League champions Manchester City to the English capital.
Speaking to the media on Friday, it therefore came as little surprise when the subject of Porro’s return to the country was put to City boss Pep Guardiola.
This comes after the Spanish international spent time on the books in Manchester prior to linking up with Sporting on a permanent basis last summer.
And Guardiola first went on to label Porro as a ‘good signing for Spurs’:
“Perfect to play five at the back, last season we suffer when we play against Sporting. This season Tottenham vs Sporting, a good signing for Spurs.”
From here, the Spaniard was also drawn on whether the transfer team at the Etihad ever considered activating Porro’s buyback clause this winter.
And though Guardiola assured that as much was not discussed, his fellow countryman was nevertheless ‘on the list’ of those being watched with a view to the future:
“No [we didn’t think about re-signing], he was on the list but we didn’t think about the buy-back. He decides to go to Spurs.”
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