Marseille sign striker Vitinha from Braga for potential club-record fee

Marseille, Jan 31, 2023 (AFP) - Marseille signed Portuguese under-21 international striker Vitinha from Braga just as the French transfer window shut on Tuesday evening.

In a statement to the Portuguese stock exchange, Braga said the transfer was worth 25 million euros ($27 million), plus seven million in possible bonuses.

The bonuses make it potentially a club-record transfer. Marseille paid 30 million to bring back Dimitri Payet from West Ham in 2017.

The 22-year-old Vitinha had also been linked with Premier League strugglers Southampton.

Vitinha became Marseille's third winter signing after midfielders Ruslan Malinovskyi and Azzedine Ounahi.

Gerson, Pape Gueye, Bamba Dieng, Luis Suarez and Isaak Toure have all left the club.

Vitinha, short for Vitor Manuel Carvalho Oliveira, scored 13 goals and provided five assists in 27 games for Braga this season to help lift the club to second in the Portuguese league, seven points behind leaders Benfica.

He has three goals in six games for the Portuguese under-21 team, but has yet to make his senior international debut.