After end-of-season meeting, Sporting still want €12m signing | OneFootball

Georgios Vagiannidis is preparing to take on the new season in a different frame of mind. After a first season at Sporting marked by some adaptation difficulties, the Greek right-back believes he can show his full worth and earn an important place among Rui Borges’ options.

According to newspaper A Bola, the Greece international used the holiday period to "clear his head" and will return to training determined to justify Sporting’s investment in him. The defender acknowledges that he fell short of expectations in 2025/26, but is confident he can deliver a different response in the new season.

This mindset was helped by a meeting held with Sporting’s football hierarchy at the end of last season. The club’s officials told Vagiannidis that they still believe in his qualities and consider that his first year at Alvalade essentially served as an adaptation period to Portuguese football and his new personal reality.

The 24-year-old full-back knows, however, that he starts behind Iván Fresneda in the battle for a place in the starting eleven. The Spaniard has practically recovered from the injury he suffered in April and remains the main option for the right side of the defence, although Eduardo Quaresma can also be used in that position, as happened in some Champions League matches last season.

Signed from Panathinaikos, Vagiannidis has already cost Sporting more than €12 million, after a €1 million bonus was triggered by objectives being met. Although a possible departure was at one point considered, the Greek will remain at Alvalade and intends to convince Rui Borges that he deserves a more prominent role in the 2026/27 season.

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