Manchester United and Chelsea scouts were in attendance at the Stadium of Light on Saturday as Porto stunned champions Benfica on their own patch. United and Chelsea are fairly regular observers of Portuguese top-flight matches and it is no surprise to see the two clubs represented at this season’s first meeting between any of the Primeira Liga’s big three.
And they weren’t the only sharks in the pool with Spanish champions Barcelona, Serie A champions Juventus and Milan’s big two also sending spies to check out the latest Portuguese talents to emerge.
Porto won the game 2-0 and it would seem the Dragons have a new wave of talent coming through their ranks that may soon find their way to the bigger European leagues.
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Among them, 19-year-old Romario Baro – who demonstrated maturity and a control of the midfield until he was replaced in the 73rd minute.
Confident start by Porto, and especially by Romário Baro who does not looked at all overawed by the occasion. Teenager has the first effort of the match, but Vlachodimos saves comfortably. Benfica 0-0 Porto, 9′
— Tom Kundert (@PortuGoal1) August 24, 2019
The teenage talent has a similar look to ex-Benfica star Renato Sanches with his dreadlocks and presence beyond his years. And his name will not be a new one to English club scouts as, aged 18, he played in the final of the Premier League International Cup in May 2018.
Porto’s talented young crop of players beat Arsenal 1-0 to retain the trophy at the Emirates Stadium and Romario Baro’s name undoubtedly went into a few notebooks that evening.
But he is not currently considered the jewel in the crown of the Porto youth set-up as that title probably belongs to 17-year-old striker Fabio Silva.
Earlier this month, he became the first player born in the 21st century to make an appearance for Porto, but did not feature off the bench in the Classic against Benfica on Saturday.
The hosts also had a couple of young talents in their starting line-up with left-back Nuno Tavares and central midfielder Florentino Luis having recently made the first-team breakthrough. Tavares, 19, was part of the Portugal squad that impressed at the Toulon tournament this summer – alongside Porto’s Romario Baro.
Luis, 20, made a handful of first-team appearances last season and was a member of Portugal’s Under-20 squad that came up short in the World Under-20 Cup this summer.
