João Costa

João Costa returned to FC Porto this July, signing a contract through to 2030 and taking the number 24 shirt vacated by Nehuén Pérez. He first appeared for Porto B in 2015, part of a squad that won Liga Portugal 2 the following season, and picked up two youth honours along the way: the Portuguese Under-19 championship and the Premier League International Cup.

What followed was eight years scattered across two countries. Porto sent him out on loan to Gil Vicente and then to Spain's FC Cartagena, and from there he settled into a run of Spanish clubs — Mirandés, Granada, where he featured for both the first team and the reserves, and Real Murcia — before returning to Portuguese football with Feirense and, briefly, Estrela da Amadora.

Since coming back to the Dragão, Costa has had a first taste of major silverware at his parent club: a Liga Portugal title and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, both won in the current campaign. He has represented Portugal at Under-17, Under-19 and Under-23 level, but a senior cap has so far eluded him.