Shoya Nakajima closing in on a return to Europe

Shoya Nakajima, who left Portuguese side Portimonense for a huge €35million last February to join Qatari outfit Al Duhail, is edging closer to a return to European football.

The move to Asia back in February came as a surprise, and was even greeted with disappointment by many in Europe, who felt that Nakajima had a lot to offer the European game.

However, a return to the continent - and more specifically Portugal - now appears to be very much on the cards.

Indeed, it is Porto who have been making strides to sign Nakajima, confirming today that they have reached a pre-agreement with the tricky 24-year old winger.

It comes after Porto missed out on the signing of Bruma, who looked set to join the Primeira Liga runners-up, but opted to sign for Dutch side PSV instead.

Nakajima was heavily linked with a move to the English Premier League, with both Southampton and Wolves believed to have been considering a move for the Japanese winger, before he eventually moved to Qatar back in February.

However, the tricky Japanese attacker, who performed so brilliantly for Portimonense during his one and a half years at the club, could return to the country this summer, with Porto actively seeking his acquisition.

Porto manager Sergio Conceicao is known to be a big admirer of the diminutive Japanese forward, and with Algerian international Yacine Brahimi leaving the club this summer after his contract expired, the door has opened for Shoya Nakajima to fill the void left behind by the long-serving Porto man.

Shoya Nakajima. Photo author: yoppy. License link.