Pundit: Sporting's best signing could outshine... | OneFootball

Sergi Altimira continues to earn praise for his start to the season in Sporting colours. Bruno Francisco even believes that, so far, the Spanish midfielder is the Lions’ best signing and thinks he could go on to have a greater impact than Morten Hjulmand.

he could become even more complete than Hjulmand himself. It seems to me that Altimira has a great deal of self-sufficiency here; he manages to win back a lot of balls.”

Bruno Francisco also recalled the midfielder’s defensive numbers to back up his analysis. “Before Benfica’s game in hand, Altimira was the player with the most ball recoveries, so we are talking about a player who also has the ability to build play.”

For the pundit, the Spaniard’s versatility allows him to take on different roles in Rui Borges’ midfield. “He is a very complete midfielder. Ok, he can play as a ‘6’, in a more defensive role, but he is a midfielder with strong playmaking ability and a good capacity for winning the ball back.”

The comparison with the former Sporting captain then came up again. “I would say he has everything it takes to be a player with a greater impact than Hjulmand and, for now, he is Sporting’s best signing”, said Bruno Francisco.

Rodrigo Zalazar was also discussed, although the pundit feels the Uruguayan is still searching for greater consistency. “Rodrigo Zalazar will have his impact, but he has not yet managed to maintain a high level of quality over many consecutive games, but we’ll see how it turns out.”

As for Issa Doumbia, Bruno Francisco also sees potential, although he highlighted the differences compared to the player he is replacing in Sporting’s system. “Doumbia also seems to me to be a player who has arrived and can be important, but at the moment they are still trying to turn him into a replacement for Morita, even though he has different characteristics. Other than that, Altimira is the one stepping up and he is already the boss of Sporting’s midfield,” he concluded.

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