Sporting outcast vows to prove himself in the future | OneFootball

Rui Borges intends to continue giving João Simões playing time and allow him to develop, gradually, within the Sporting team. The absence of the young player’s name from the match sheet against Braga has been a topic of discussion at Alvalade, even after the coach guaranteed that it was a technical decision.

According to the newspaper Record, the Lions’ coach was indeed telling the truth and it was merely a strategic choice, with Rui Borges preferring to take two center-backs to the bench—Ousmane Diomande and Eduardo Quaresma—and only one midfielder—Giorgi Kochorashvili.

Therefore, although he was not included in Sporting’s squad for this Liga Portugal Betclic match, the same source states that João Simões will continue to be a part of the Lions’ plans and, over the coming weeks, will have those opportunities. Rui Borges assured the young midfielder that his time would come and that the work he has been putting in will bear fruit.

For now, João Simões ends up having a place as the team’s ‘fourth midfielder’. Morten Hjulmand and Hidemasa Morita are Rui Borges’ chosen starters, while Kochorashvili has been coming off the bench according to the needs of each match. However, the young Lion is important for the squad’s rotation phase, especially with a tighter schedule.

This season, wearing the Sporting shirt, João Simões—valued at 6 million euros—has made three appearances. At the start of this season, the midfielder trained at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy has played 81 minutes: 78 in the Champions League and two in the League. It’s worth recalling that the Lions’ number 52 recently returned from a long injury layoff.

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