Benfica hesitated, Sporting snapped up pre-season revelation; all to know | OneFootball

The impact of Issa Doumbia in Sporting’s pre-season has been one of the major highlights of this start to the campaign. With two goals and one assist, the 22-year-old Italian midfielder quickly won over Rui Borges and the Sporting fans, but it is known that his name was also on Benfica’s table before he moved to Alvalade.

given the existing competition in midfield and other priorities defined for the transfer market, Rui Costa.

Sporting, for their part, had already identified Doumbia as one of their main targets to strengthen the midfield. The first report came as early as April, through the scouting department led by Flávio Costa, which highlighted the midfielder’s ability to win back the ball in advanced areas, speed up transitions and offer the team a different physical dimension.

The speed of Sporting’s SAD, led by Frederico Varandas, proved decisive. While the Eagles were delaying a decision, Sporting moved forward with negotiations and avoided the signing turning into a bidding war with other interested clubs.

In addition to his performances in the middle of the park, Doumbia has already been tested on the left wing at certain moments of pre-season, offering Rui Borges another tactical solution. For now, everything indicates that he will be one of the standout figures of the new Sporting side, in a transfer where Sporting’s speed ended up making all the difference in the face of Benfica’s hesitation.

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