Rui Borges knows who he can count on at Sporting, 19 confirmed | OneFootball

Sporting continue to prepare for the 2026/27 season, and Rui Borges is already starting to get a clear idea of the players he will be able to count on at the start of preparations. The Lions’ pre-season gets underway on June 30 at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy in Alcochete, with medical exams and fitness tests scheduled for the first day, while the rest of the schedule has also already been defined.

At this stage, the green-and-white coach has 19 players confirmed for the return to training. Among them are new signings Issa Doumbia, Pedro Lima and Silas Andersen, along with names such as Daniel Bragança, Pedro Gonçalves, Geny Catamo, Fotis Ioannidis and Eduardo Quaresma. Meanwhile, Morten Hjulmand and Giorgi Kochorashvili remain in an undefined situation and could still leave Alvalade during the summer transfer window.

On the other hand, some players are not part of the coaching staff’s plans for the new season. Rafael Pontelo, Tanlongo, Sotiris, Koindredi, Alexandre Brito, Biel and Faye have been given permission to report later or carry out individual training while they look for a solution for the future.

At a later stage of preparations, Rui Borges will welcome the internationals who are currently competing in the World Cup. Rui Silva, Gonçalo Inácio, Debast, Diomande, Maxi Araújo, Trincão, Luis Suárez and Rodrigo Zalazar will only join the group after completing their commitments with their respective national teams.

As in recent seasons, the Sporting coach will once again place his trust in the academy. David Moreira, Salvador Blopa, Bruno Ramos, Eduardo Felicíssimo, Bafdili, Manuel Mendonça, Paulo Cardoso and Mauro Couto have been called up to work with the first team and try to secure a place in the pre-season training camp in Lagos, in preparations whose main objective is to win back the national title.

Players confirmed for the start of pre-season:

Goalkeepers: João Virgínia, Diego Callai and Francisco Silva.

Defenders: Georgios Vagiannidis, Iván Fresneda, Eduardo Quaresma, Ricardo Mangas and Nuno Santos.

Midfielders: Daniel Bragança, João Simões, Issa Doumbia, Pedro Lima and Silas Andersen.

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