Leonino confirms: Centre-back not in Rui Borges' plans, leaving Sporting | OneFootball

Leonino Exclusive confirmed: João Muniz is expected to leave Sporting again on loan in the 2026/27 season. The 20-year-old centre-back, long regarded as one of the promising talents from the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, is not currently part of the plans to permanently join the first-team squad, and Sporting’s SAD intends for him to continue gaining experience away from Alvalade.

As now reported by newspaper A Bola, but originally revealed in a Leonino Exclusive, the plan defined by the club’s green-and-white hierarchy is to place the Portugal Under-21 international at a Liga Portugal club during next season. The intention is to allow the player to build up minutes and regular competitive experience before being reassessed by the structure led by Frederico Varandas.

Despite this scenario, João Muniz will be one of the academy youngsters involved in Sporting’s pre-season preparations, which get underway in the coming weeks. The centre-back will have the chance to prove himself at a time when Rui Borges will not immediately have several of his main options for the heart of defence available.

Zeno Debast, Gonçalo Inácio and Ousmane Diomande are with their respective national teams at the World Cup, opening the door for several academy players to work more closely with the first team during the opening days of preparations for the new season.

This season, João Muniz - valued at €500,000 - has been used mainly by Sporting B, although he has already made his first-team debut - with six minutes in the League Cup. In the 23 matches he played in the Segunda Liga, he totalled 1,761 minutes, but did not register any goals or assists.

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