Porto close to sealing Nico González transfer

Barcelona midfielder Nico Gonzalez is one step away from leaving the club for Porto according to a new report in Mundo Deportivo. The Portuguese team qualified for the Champions League after finishing 2nd in the Primeira League, and are looking to strengthen their midfield.

According to Roger Torello, the move will be a permanent transfer rather than a loan, but Barca will insert a buy-back clause to ensure they leave the door open for a potential return.

The figures are not yet known, but it’s believed that Porto was reluctant to offer a buy-back clause, but after the insistence of the La Liga Champions, they agreed through fear of missing out.

As we reported earlier this week, there were several teams chasing the signature of Gonzalez but his father did single out Porto for praise:

"“ Nico has proposals from Spain, Portugal and England and he will have to make a decision. The most important thing is that he has minutes”, said Fran González via Mundo Deportivo, “Porto is a great club and we have to be grateful because they value Nico, but there is still nothing about his future. We will talk in the next days”."

Nico spent last season on loan at Valencia and helped Los Che narrowly avoid relegation with several key performances.

Those performances attracted the attention of scouts across Europe, and Porto is an ideal place for the young Spanish midfielder to continue his development.

One last hurdle to jump for the Nico Gonzalez to Porto deal

Although the deal is very close, it’s not yet finalised with Torrelo confirming there is still one hurdle to address.

Although Porto and Barcelona have agreed to a deal, Nico has not yet agreed to the contract proposal on the table.

Porto Sporting Director Luís Gonçalves plans to lower Nico’s salary from what he’s currently on at Barca to fit him into their pay structure, taking a salary cut is never an easy decision. Especially when you have plenty of options.

However, a short-term loss could turn into a long-term gain for Nico. With Porto in the Champions League, he’ll have the chance to showcase his talent in the premier domestic football competition in the world.