Rodrigo Ribeiro handed boost as Sporting make call on his future | OneFootball

Rodrigo Ribeiro took advantage of the opportunity given by Rui Borges in the Sporting - Marinhense match and, as a result, the coach of the green and whites is said to have permanently promoted the forward to first-team training. While Fotis Ioannis continues to recover from injury, the youngster will be the 'plan B' to Luis Suárez.

As a result of this, the club’s plan for the Portugal under-21 international has also changed. At this moment, a January departure is not even seen as a possibility and Sporting’s management have already indicated that they will not accept any approaches during the winter transfer window. The goal is to evaluate Rodrigo Ribeiro until the end of the season.

Now, after making his first start for Sporting’s first team, the player is aware that he could be called upon by Rui Borges during the match against Club Brugge. The ‘number 28’ for the lions will be on the bench and could even be brought on in the Champions League, since the green and whites only have Suárez available for that position.

It’s worth remembering that, at the end of the match against Marinhense, Rui Borges had high praise for the player: “I was only sad because Rodrigo Ribeiro didn’t score. He played a great game and I was sorry he didn’t have the luck to score, because he deserved to make his debut in that regard as well. He’s a kid who has grown a lot and I think he can play both as a forward and behind the striker. He’s refined, a natural talent technically, and makes good and different decisions.”

This season, wearing the Sporting shirt, Rodrigo Ribeiro – valued at 2.5 million euros – has played 12 matches: eight for the B team and two with the main squad. In total, the forward has accumulated 661 minutes, during which he scored four goals and provided one assist in Liga 2.

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