Who is Jovane Cabral, Grêmio’s new Cape Verde attacking midfielder | OneFootball

Grêmio have turned to Jovane Cabral as their latest attacking option. The Cape Verde international is fresh from his country’s World Cup debut in North America, where he started against Spain and Argentina.

According to Globo.com, the 28-year-old is due in Porto Alegre on Tuesday to sign an 18-month contract.

Born in Assomada on Santiago island, Cabral moved to Portugal at 16 to join Sporting from Nhagar. He debuted under Jorge Jesus in 2017, became a regular a year later, and twice faced Luís Castro’s Vitória de Guimarães, splitting one win and one loss before reuniting with the coach at Grêmio.

Cabral’s peak came at the end of 2018, when he received Sporting’s Prémio Stromp as revelation of the year. Minutes tailed off thereafter, with 20 games in 2019/2020 and 28 in 2020/2021. Although injuries hindered him, he struck twice in a comeback against Porto in the 2021 Taça da Liga semi-final.

A loan to Lazio brought only four appearances in early 2022, yet he renewed with Sporting until 2025 with a €60 million release clause. Back in Lisbon he featured 10 times, then went on loan to Salernitana, 13 games and two goals, and to Olympiacos in 2024, four outings.

With loans stalling and a Sporting return unlikely, he was sold to Estrela Amadora in September 2024 for €800,000. There he played 53 matches, scoring nine with two assists, as the club competed in Portugal’s top flight and finished 15th last season.

For Cape Verde he operated mainly off the left, at times moving inside alongside Dailon Livramento and Nuno da Costa. After a round of 32 exit to Argentina, his next chapter was set quickly.

Source: Globo.com