João Simões beats the competition at Sporting, picks up award | OneFootball

João Simões is expected to return to the starting lineup for Sporting - Alverca, next Friday, October 31. The young midfielder appears to have sufficiently convinced Rui Borges and, by all indications, will be the coach’s first choice to partner with Morten Hjulmand in the Lions’ midfield.

According to the newspaper A Bola, Rui Borges has already made the decision to promote the 18-year-old midfielder in the green and white hierarchy, which ends up leaving Giorgi Kochorashvili in his shadow, despite the young Lion’s rather discreet start to the season.

The midfielder, trained at Alcochete, has surpassed the Georgian in the race and is now on equal footing with Hidemasa Morita in the battle for a spot in the starting eleven. At this moment, the same source reveals that João Simões is even slightly ahead of the Japanese international, who is going through a period of lower performance and is nearing the end of his contract, with no renewal in sight.

Rui Borges, nevertheless, still counts on Morita for the rest of the season, but intends to give more space and minutes to the young Lion, recognizing his intensity, versatility, and recovery ability—qualities that free up Hjulmand for a more offensive role.

This season, wearing Sporting’s jersey, João Simões—valued at 6 million euros—has made five appearances. The midfielder, trained at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, has 235 minutes: 142 in the Champions League and 93 in Liga Portugal Betclic.

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