Litos hails player who snubbed Sporting deal: "He's fantastic"

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·15 de enero de 2026

Litos hails player who snubbed Sporting deal: "He's fantastic"

Rui Borges will be forced to make changes in Sporting's midfield against Casa Pia, as well as in the match against PSG, since Morten Hjulmand will be serving a suspension in both games. Hidemasa Morita is expected to be chosen to pair with João Simões, something that was commented on by Litos.

The former midfielder and coach of Sporting analyzed the current state of Sporting's midfield. The former Portuguese international gave an overall assessment of the options available to Rui Borges, including experienced players and younger solutions, in statements to the newspaper A Bola.

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"Morita has class, versatility, commitment, and discipline"

"We know that Morita is at the end of his contract, he probably won't renew, but he remains a player that excites us. He is fantastic, but his physical condition has slightly delayed his use, and this has raised doubts among many people. But he has class, versatility, commitment, and discipline, any coach would love to have him", Litos began by saying.

"There are other options, even among the young players, who have already shown they are up to the task"

The former Sporting player also highlighted the positive moment of João Simões and the depth of the squad, emphasizing that Sporting has valid alternatives, including solutions from the youth ranks: "João Simões is in a good moment, then there are other solutions, even among the young players, who have already shown they are up to the task when called upon by the coach. Kochorashvili is a valid option, despite some delay in adaptation, but he will always be a player who is part of the plans, especially because he has slightly different characteristics from the others, with the ability and precision of long passes and game variation with great ease".

This season, wearing the Sporting jersey, Hidemasa Morita - valued at 11 million euros - has played 24 matches. At the start of this season, the Japanese international midfielder has played a total of 1,048 minutes, during which he assisted his teammates on two occasions.

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