Rui Borges sees an issue with Doumbia and wants him tied down at Sporting | OneFootball

Issa Doumbia quickly earned a place in Sporting’s starting eleven, but Rui Borges believes the midfielder still has huge room for improvement. The Italy under-21 international is going through a tactical adaptation process, with the coaching staff trying to make him more secure and balanced.

According to O Jogo, for €20.53 million, plus €6.32 million in bonuses. Rui Borges believes in the “enormous potential” of the 'number 77', but has already made it clear that he is “still far from what he can deliver”.

The main intention is to keep Doumbia more connected to the center of the pitch and closer to Sergi Altimira. Sporting want to cut out some of his riskier carries and prevent the midfielder from leaving the team exposed during defensive transitions, while also encouraging him to simplify his game more.

At Venezia, Doumbia had more freedom to get into attacking areas, which allowed him to finish 2025/26 with ten goals and five assists. At Alvalade, however, Rui Borges wants to add more off-the-ball responsibility and greater positional discipline to his game. “He is growing tactically. He has a lot of street football,” the coach recently explained.

the coaching staff now see the player’s future primarily in midfield. Doumbia has been played alongside Altimira, and Sporting believe it will be in that area that he can best make the most of all his qualities.

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