“Grown up in the B team” – Porto boss reveals why talented Nigerian lad made his first-team debut

Porto manager Sérgio Conceição has explained his decision to hand Nigerian youngster Abraham Marcus his Porto debut during the team's recent win over Portimonense in the 26th round of the League.

The 23-year-old forward came on as a substitute in the closing stages and helped his side see out a 1-0 victory.

As per Conceição (via Porto Canal), there is “always permanent contact” between the club's two senior teams, and Marcus was launched because “a strong player on the right” was needed. The manager stated that the decision to bring the young player on was always about seeing what the game needed.

Conceição said, “He is a young man who has grown up in the B team, we are always in contact, and we see the evolution of each young person.

“We didn't launch him for numbers; we launched (Marcus) because we needed a strong player on the right. I put people up front who could aim at the opponent's goal. It was always about seeing what the game needed.”

Super Eagles defender Zaidu Sanusi did not feature in the match due to an injury he picked up while on international duty.

While Porto's victory over Portimonense was a hard-fought one, Abraham Marcus will hope he can feature more prominently for the first team in the coming weeks.

Marcus joined Porto B from Remo Stars in July and has scored eight goals – including one that won a Goal of the Month award – and provided one assist in 21 Liga Sabseg games.

The Remo Academy product's loan deal will expire on June 30 unless Porto exercise their option to make it permanent.