According to Portuguese outlet O Jogo, Porto ended up paying just £4m to sign former Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba over the summer – despite the club initially holding out for £8m.
Considering A) our initial asking price and B) the fees talented young players seem to demand in this day and age, this is an absolutely pitiful amount for us to have received in the end.
That being said, this perhaps shows just how keen Rafa was to move the 24-year old on – also explaining why it took so long for the deal to go through (with us presumably keen to get much more but buckling in the end).
Not only was he clearly out of his plans (having failed to make a single Premier League appearance in 2018), Benitez was probably desperate to sell anyone he could (within reason) given his limited budget was only going to be topped up via player sales.
£4m seems far too cheap in this day and age, although we did manage to snap up Fabian Schar at a release clause price of just £3m as a result – so it may balance itself out in the end.
Six weeks from the deal going through and it’s fair to say Mbemba’s start to life in Portugal hasn’t quite gone to plan.
He got injured in training just days after signing and he’s yet to return to action – with him also missing from DR Congo’s latest squad, suggesting he’s still struggling.
Another who flattered to deceive – potentially a top-shelf talent, but with a League One mentality – knew he could-be-good, and was early on, but expected it would continue to be all too easy – not enough passion to graft for the club or his own sense of pride when things got tougher – not the touch of a LeJeune or the resilience of a Dummett or the passion of a Lascelles or the speed of a Yedlin or the mature experience of a Frederico…
Peter(Quote)
You say 4 million is a pitiful amount – so what is the going rate for an out of favour player who can’t even get on the bench?
Brrrian(Quote)