City scouts Porto twice in a month as transfer ban looms among 114-charge punishments

Manchester City are pressing ahead with transfer recruitment even as they await the full consequences of an independent commission ruling that found them guilty of 114 Premier League rule breaches. According to Portuguese outlet A Bola, via Sport Witness, City scouts were present at Porto’s 1-0 Champions League home defeat to PSV at the Estádio do Dragão on Tuesday — their second visit to a Porto match within a month.

The scouting trips follow City’s own Champions League fixture in Portugal in September. The player most closely linked with City’s interest is Victor Froholdt, a 20-year-old Danish midfielder who reportedly impressed scouts during a previous Porto match against Benfica. Tuesday proved a tougher night for the youngster, however, with Sport Witness noting he was below his best as Porto fell to PSV.

Other players on the radar include 18-year-old Porto winger Oskar Pietuszewski, who started on the left flank, and 22-year-old Spanish striker Samu Aghehowa, a name that has attracted broader Premier League interest. On the PSV side, 21-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic produced a more eye-catching display and is reported as another possible target, while Yarek Gasiorowski, also 21, impressed at centre-back.

The recruitment activity comes against a backdrop of profound uncertainty at the Etihad. Potential sanctions from the Premier League charges include expulsion from the division, the stripping of titles won under Pep Guardiola, points deductions, limits on player registrations, and an enforced change of ownership. A multi-year transfer ban is among the punishments reportedly under active discussion, which makes the current scouting push all the more significant — City are building a pipeline while they still can.

The club has lodged an appeal following the verdict and has indicated it holds ‘irrefutable’ evidence it chose not to present during the original investigation. Until any formal ban is imposed, however, recruitment remains business as usual.

Former City player Philipp Lahm reflected on the broader damage to the club’s legacy in a column for The Guardian. “From the outside, City fundamentally did not do much differently from the other 10 or so top European clubs,” Lahm wrote. “But what are achievements on the pitch worth if they are accompanied by rule-breaking?”