After end-of-season meeting, Sporting stay keen on €12m target | OneFootball

Georgios Vagiannidis is preparing to take on the new season with a different mindset. After a first season at Sporting marked by some adaptation difficulties, the Greek right-back believes he can show his full worth and earn an important place in Rui Borges’ plans.

According to the newspaper A Bola, the Greek international used the holiday period to “clear his head” and will return to training determined to justify Sporting’s investment in him. The defender acknowledges that he fell short of expectations in 2025/26, but is confident he can deliver a different response in the new season.

This state of mind was helped by a meeting held with Sporting’s football department at the end of last season. The club’s officials told Vagiannidis that they still believe in his qualities and consider that his first year at Alvalade essentially served as an adaptation period to Portuguese football and his new personal reality.

However, the 24-year-old full-back knows he starts behind Iván Fresneda in the battle for a place in the starting eleven. The Spaniard has practically recovered from the injury he suffered in April and remains the main option on the right side of the defence, although Eduardo Quaresma can also be used in that position, as happened in some Champions League matches last season.

Signed from Panathinaikos, Vagiannidis has already cost Sporting more than €12 million, after a €1 million bonus linked to objectives was triggered. Although a possible departure was at one point considered, the Greek will remain at Alvalade and intends to convince Rui Borges that he deserves a more prominent role in the 2026/27 season.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.