Porto Coach Conceicao Defends Taremi’s Decision to Move to Inter
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Porto coach Sergio Conceicao came to the defense of Mehdi Taremi ahead of his widely expected move to Inter Milan.
The Iranian striker has reportedly agreed to join the Serie A leaders in the summer.
He is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club as his deal with Porto will expire at the end of the season.
Earlier this week, press reports revealed that Taremi was on his way to Milano to undergo a medical before signing for Inter.
However, the parties decided to postpone the trip following the news leak to avoid undesired media attention.
In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Porto coach Conceicao insisted that the club must respect Taremi’s decision.
The Portuguese tactician shrugged off talks about the canceled flight, preferring to focus on the striker’s contribution to the club.
“I don’t work at the airport. So I have no idea if there were flights or not,” said Conceicao in his press conference via FcInterNews.
“Here it’s not enough to have a contract, you have to have respect for the player.”
The former Inter Milan and Lazio winger insists that Taremi deserves recognition, reminding that the latter is Porto’s third all-time goalscorer.
“We’re talking about a player who is in the Top Three of the club’s top scorers. He’s only behind Jardel and Jackson. He is ahead of Hulk.
“People seem to forget Taremi’s 100 goals and 50 assists. Mehdi respects the club.
“He took a trip back from Qatar without getting any sleep and made himself available against Arouca. So let’s not get carried away.
“Taremi can give you all sorts of solutions upfront. It depends on the strategy. There is an appropriate system for every match.
“So, we need to see if we need players with Mehdi’s traits or not,” he added.