Gyokeres next: Assessing the 7 biggest Premier League signings from Liga Portugal
Viktor Gyokeres is set to become the next high-profile star to move to the Premier League from the Liga Portugal, with a deal being in place with Arsenal.
The Portuguese top flight has produced plenty of world-class players over the years, although not all of them make the grade in England.
We’ve assessed the seven most expensive transfers between Premier League and Liga Portugal clubs.
7. Luis Diaz – £37million
Signed in 2022 as a Sadio Mane replacement, Liverpool got an excellent deal when purchasing Diaz for £37million.
The rapid Colombian winger has since racked up 148 appearances for the club and has produced 64 goal contributions during that time.
His long-term future is currently up in the air, with Barcelona reportedly interested, but there’s no doubt that he’s been a successful signing for Liverpool.
6. Geovany Quenda – £40million
Back in March, Chelsea purchased Quenda for a reported fee of £40million from Sporting Lisbon.
The 18-year-old is set to remain in Portugal for the 2025-26 campaign, before moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2026.
Quenda is still a raw prospect, but Chelsea have already seen enough of him to drop a sizeable amount of money on the dynamic winger.
5. Bruno Fernandes – £47million
Pound for pound, this is arguably the best signing on this entire list.
While Manchester United have fallen far below expectations in recent seasons, Fernandes has consistently produced the goods since arriving from Portugal in 2020.
Along with his sublime scoring record, having scored 98 goals in 290 appearances, he’s also one of the best creators in Europe.
During 2024-25, the 30-year-old created more chances than any other player in the Premier League, despite playing in a dysfunctional United set-up.
Given all his years of service, it’s safe to say that United got a bargain when signing him for £47million back in January 2020.
4. Nico Gonzalez – £50million
With Pep Guardiola desperate for a Rodri alternative, Manchester City splashed £50million on Gonzalez back in January.
The 23-year-old made 11 Premier League appearances during the second half of the season, but is now being linked with a move away from the club.
With Rodri now fully fit and the recent addition of Tijjani Reijnders, Gonzalez could find regular minutes hard to come by next season.
According to reports, Gonzalez is currently considering his options amid interest from clubs in Saudi Arabia. Watch this space.
3. Ruben Dias – £60million
Signed in the summer of 2020 for a fee of £60million from Benfica, Dias has proven to be an excellent signing for Manchester City.
The Portuguese centre-half won the Premier League in his first four consecutive seasons with the club and he’s established himself as one of the main leaders within the squad.
Still just 28 years old, Dias still has plenty of years left in the tank yet.
2. Darwin Nunez – £64million
After tearing things up with Benfica, Liverpool went all out for Nunez in 2022 and dropped an initial £64million on the Uruguay international.
He has shown some real moments of quality and his record of 40 goals in 143 games isn’t totally disastrous, but given the money Liverpool paid, it’s safe to say that Nunez hasn’t quite delivered.
Having failed to establish himself as a regular starter during his three-year stint at Anfield, the long-term future of the 26-year-old is currently up in the air.
During 2024-25, he only scored seven goals across all competitions
1. Enzo Fernandez – £106.8million
By far the biggest sale that a Portuguese club has made to a Premier League side.
After Fernandez impressed for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, Chelsea wasted no time and triggered his release clause in January 2023.
Living up to that sort of price tag was always going to be difficult and it has taken the 24-year-old some time to adapt to life in the Premier League.
However, there’s no denying that he currently ranks among the best midfielders in the league and the fact that Barcelona and Real Madrid are consistently being linked with him is a testament to his quality.
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