Sporting signing disappoints Samuel Almeida, suggests new duo | OneFootball

Samuel Almeida believes that the entire Sporting structure is "united around the great objective" of the season: winning the National Three-Peat Championship. In this Leonino Exclusive, the former leader of the green and whites reveals, however, some areas for improvement.

"Overall, it seems that the transfer strategy was primarily aimed at giving depth to the squad. We have more options this year," says Samuel Almeida, before briefly analyzing some of Sporting's new signings.

"Luis Suarez was signed to be a starter and has been a pleasant surprise, as has Alisson, both standing out the most. Vagiannidis has potential but needs more time, and Kochorashvili is a disappointment," he admits, assuring that "João Simões is the most reliable" alongside Morten Hjulmand.

Although he believes that January "will not be an easy transfer window," Samuel Almeida suggests that Sporting should once again make signings in the national market, which has brought much success in recent seasons: "I would say the priority should be to sign a promising midfielder for the future, preparing for 26/27. Gustavo Sá would be my choice, as well as the signing of Clayton."

After 10 rounds of the Liga Portugal Betclic, with Rui Borges in charge since the beginning, Samuel Almeida takes the opportunity to draw a comparison with the 11 matches managed by Ruben Amorim in 2024/25, before he left for Manchester United: "Rui Borges was champion and deserves the benefit of the doubt. The team has not always been assertive in the most challenging matches and, having the most valuable squad in Portuguese football, I believe we can and should produce more."

"In any case, with Gyokeres leaving, this was always going to be a season with some challenges. As for the playing model, it seems to me that the squad is still better suited to a three-center-back system, but obviously every coach likes to put their own stamp on things. Rui Borges, like anyone else, will be judged by the results he achieves, with the objective naturally being the Three-Peat Championship, a historic achievement for the Club and for these management bodies, who are united around this goal," he concludes.

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