Hugo Viana’s best transfers as Sporting director closes in on Manchester City move to replace Txiki Begiristain | OneFootball

Manchester City appear to have identified their long-term successor to the hugely successful director of football, Txiki Begiristain for 2025.

The 60-year-old is set to bring an end to his time at the Etihad Stadium at the end of the ongoing season, having first joined the club and taken on the role of sporting director back in 2012 after a period working with his former playing club, FC Barcelona.

The Premier League champions have been kept well informed on the situation regarding Begiristain, and have been aware of his desire to step away from the day-to-day duties of the game for a number of years.

As such, Manchester City have had plenty of time to understand who they would like to bring in as their replacement, and this week has brought reports of an agreement with Sporting CP’s director of football, Hugo Viana.

The 41-year-old is expected to finalise a deal before the two clubs meet in the UEFA Champions League next month, before beginning duties at the Etihad Stadium in early 2025 and taking the role on entirely from the start of the next summer transfer window.

But what has Hugo Viana’s record been like at Sporting CP in terms of his most notable recruitments and biggest sales from the Portuguese club, after first taking on the role of sporting director in 2018?

Viana’s first major deal at Sporting CP saw the club agree to a sale for Bruno Fernandes to Manchester United in the January transfer window of 2020, with an initial fee of €55 million plus a further €25 million in add-ons having been finalised.

Hugo Viana’s first notable summer market in terms of arrivals came in 2021, with a total of five completed deals into the Sporting squad including the remarkable transfer of Uruguayan midfielder Manuel Ugarte from Familicao for €6.5 million.

The 2023 summer market would then see Hugo Viana and his colleagues sanction a total of nine arrivals into the Lisbon-based club’s squad, whilst 17 players would leave the club either on loan, free transfers, or via big-money moves.

Among those to come into the playing squad were Ruben Vinagre from Wolves for €10 million, Pedro Porro from Manchester City for €8.5 million, and Jeremiah St. Juste from Mainz 05 for €9.5 million.

Arguably the biggest of the talking points from the same window would come in the way of major departures, as Viana finalise deals that saw Nuno Mendes move to PSG for €38 million, Joao Palhinha to Fulham for €20 million, and Mathues Nunes to Wolves for €45 million.

2024’s summer market would follow a similar trend to the year prior, with notable signings including Viktor Gyökeres from Coventry for €21 million, Francisco Trincão from Barcelona for €7 million, Iván Fresneda from Valladolid for €9 million, and Morten Hjulmand from Lecce for €18 million.

As for sales, more big-money departures would be finalised by Hugo Viana including a huge profits generated around Manuel Ugarte, with the midfielder joining PSG for €60 million, as well as Pedro Porro joining Tottenham for €40 million.

What looks to be Hugo Viana’s final transfer window in charge at Sporting was significantly quieter however, with the club signing goalkeeper Vladan Kovačević from Raków Częstochowa for €5 million, and selling Abdul Fatawu to Leicester City for €17 million.