Irankunda shows some concern on arrival at Sporting, but turns heads | OneFootball

Nestory Irankunda has only completed two training sessions with the Sporting squad, but he has already started to leave a positive impression in Alcochete. The 20-year-old Australian winger arrived determined to make up ground and quickly fight for a place in Rui Borges’ starting eleven.

According to Record, his intensity, speed, and understanding of movement with and without the ball have impressed Sporting’s officials. Irankunda knows that Flávio Gonçalves and Jesse Derry have the edge for having completed the entire pre-season, so he intends to speed up his adaptation as much as possible.

That concern began even before his arrival in Portugal. As soon as he realized his future would be with Sporting, the Australian international began learning Portuguese, although he naturally communicates in English. The aim is to ease his integration in the dressing room and better understand the coaching staff’s instructions.

Sporting Sporting invested €15 million, plus another €3 million in add-ons, to sign Irankunda from Watford. The player is still awaiting the completion of his league registration due to purely bureaucratic matters, but the process is well underway and there is no concern at Alvalade.

Later in the season, Rui Borges may have to deal with a lengthy absence from the new signing. Australia will compete in the Asian Cup between January and February and, if called up, Nestory Irankunda could miss several matches for the Lions, including the Taça da Liga final four and the final matchdays of the regular Champions League phase.

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