Manchester United have reportedly lost out to Paris Saint-Germain in the race for Porto midfielder Vitinha.
The 22-year-old - who previously gleaned Premier League experience with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020-21 - established himself as a regular figure for Sergio Conceicao's side in the 2021-22 season.
Vitinha produced four goals and five assists in 47 appearances across all competitions - starting 27 Primeira Liga matches in the middle of the park to help Porto regain the top-flight title.
The former Wolves loanee has also earned three caps for the Portugal national team, but his contract at Porto now only has two years left to run, leading to the expectation of a summer departure.
Man United were thought to be strongly interested in signing Vitinha, and Porto president Pinto da Costa recently revealed that the club had rejected an offer from an unnamed bidder for the midfielder.
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"There was a concrete offer, of considerable value, for Vitinha that we did not accept. And we referred them to the release clause, which is the only way to take our player," Da Costa told Record.
The Red Devils have seemingly now been forced to accept defeat in their pursuit of Vitinha, as transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims that the 22-year-old is now heading for Paris.
Romano reports that the French champions will stump up a €40m (£34.2m) fee to sign Vitinha, and the player agreed personal terms with Les Parisiens earlier on Friday.
The two clubs are now said to be preparing the paperworks to make the deal official, and PSG are poised to make Vitinha their first signing of the summer window under new football advisor Luis Campos.
The Portuguese midfielder prepares to leave Porto having won two Primeira Liga titles and two Taca de Portugal crowns, making 59 appearances for the club in total.
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Vitinha is unlikely to be working under Mauricio Pochettino, though, with the Argentine already believed to have been relieved of his duties after less than two years.
Contact has allegedly been made with Nice over Christophe Galtier, while Ruben Amorim and Zinedine Zidane are also candidates to take the Parc des Princes reins.
Meanwhile, Man United have already suffered transfer disappointment after Darwin Nunez elected to sign for Liverpool, and they must now focus their midfield efforts elsewhere.
Talks remain ongoing over a move for Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, and Erik ten Hag's side are supposedly preparing to step up their pursuit of Juventus' Adrien Rabiot.
Vitinha is set to become the second midfield protege to leave Porto in the early stages of the summer window, as fellow 22-year-old Fabio Vieira closes in on a move to Arsenal.
The Portuguese champions confirmed the deal on Friday morning, and the Gunners will fork out an upfront fee of €35m (£29.9m) for the versatile attacking midfielder.
Ben Knapton
