Danilo is No 1 on Barcelona's list of candidates to replace Dani Alves

Danilo is an old acquaintance of Barcelona's technical department. He played against them for Santos, as well as Neymar, in the World Club Cup final of 2011, and earned himself a move to Porto. 

In recent years his name has cropped up whenever the club has searched for a right-back for the future. He has grown and strengthened at Porto and plays in a bold style that would suit the Camp Nou. 

Since last season the club have been keeping tabs on the player and across various reports have reached similar conclusions: He is one of the full backs with great potential, although not quite yet at the level of Dani Alves.

But the market is capricious and sometimes you need to gamble and get your man and hopes he grows into the role. With Juan Cuadrado heading to Chelsea, he seems the most likely replacement for Alves. The problem is that Porto, a selling club par excellence, is not in the business of letting players go cheaply. 

Danilo's contract ends in 2016, a date that means they will sell him for under his release-fee clause of €50million. Juventus tried to sign him in the winter window but their €13m offer was snubbed. 

Porto may try to get Danilo to sign a new deal, ensuring that they can negotiate a price for him without having to worry about him going on a free transfer in 2016. 

Danilo said: "Since I arrived at Porto I have been linked with big clubs. I'm used to it. You also need to remember that Barca can't sign players for now. In any case, it makes me happy to be linked with a club like Barcelona."