Charlton Athletic are set to sign Portugal defender Jorge Costa in the summer, off the back of the 30-year old's successful loan spell at the club this season.
"Jorge has been absolutely superb since he came to England," said Charlton manager Alan Curbishley. "He has shown he is more than capable of holding his own in the Premiership.
"I have already spoken to Porto and they have said they are willing to let him go for slightly less than the £4 million they were asking when we first spoke to them back in December."
Costa has been a revelation for the Addicks in his five-month spell at the club, but previous efforts to sign him on a full-time basis had failed due to Porto's asking-price.
Having captained the Porto side for much of the last decade, Costa had looked set to see out his career as a one-club man (excluding brief loan spells at Penafiel and Maritimo).
But a move seemed inevitable after the burly centre-half fell out with coach Octavio Machado.
Despite rumours of a move to Barcelona, Costa eventually moved to Charlton, where he has attained cult-hero status among the South East London club's fans.
"Jorge has been absolutely superb since he came to England," said Charlton manager Alan Curbishley. "He has shown he is more than capable of holding his own in the Premiership.
"I have already spoken to Porto and they have said they are willing to let him go for slightly less than the £4 million they were asking when we first spoke to them back in December."
Costa has been a revelation for the Addicks in his five-month spell at the club, but previous efforts to sign him on a full-time basis had failed due to Porto's asking-price.
Having captained the Porto side for much of the last decade, Costa had looked set to see out his career as a one-club man (excluding brief loan spells at Penafiel and Maritimo).
But a move seemed inevitable after the burly centre-half fell out with coach Octavio Machado.
Despite rumours of a move to Barcelona, Costa eventually moved to Charlton, where he has attained cult-hero status among the South East London club's fans.