Lisbon, July 3 (IANS) Portuguese football club FC Porto officially announced signing of midfielder Danilo Pereira on Friday.

After the arrival of the French Giannelli Imbula, Spain’s Alberto Bueno and the Portuguese Andre Andre, the club announced the signing of the 23-year-old Pereira from Portuguese club CS Maritimo following his impressive performance last season which led him to debut with the Portuguese national team in June, reports Efe.

The contract is valid for four years with a release fee set at 40 million euros ($44.4 million).

The Portuguese midfielder will seek to fill the gap left by the Brazilian Carlos Henrique Casemiro, who was on loan to Porto from Spanish club Real Madrid.

Porto did not disclose the final purchase price, although Portuguese press speculated that the transfer fee may have amounted to some 4 million euros ($4.4 million).

Pereira previously played for Benfica, Porto’s main rival, and then moved on to Italian side Parma, Holland’s Roda and Grecian Aris before joining Maritimo, where he excelled last season.