Luis Guilherme still not certain to make Sporting debut | OneFootball

Luís Guilherme has experienced intense days since arriving in Portugal. He landed in Lisbon on Saturday, was introduced as a Sporting signing on Sunday, trained for the first time with his new teammates on Monday morning, and is now part of the Sporting squad heading to Leiria. However, his presence on the field against Vitória de Guimarães this Tuesday, in the League Cup semi-finals (8:00 PM), remains uncertain.

This uncertainty was confirmed by Rui Borges himself during the pre-match press conference. "Luís Guilherme may or may not play. It's not a given," stated the Sporting coach, as there are two obstacles to his potential debut: one legal and the other technical.

On the bureaucratic side, although the name of the 19-year-old winger—signed from West Ham for 14 million euros, with an additional 3 million dependent on objectives—already appears on the Liga Portugal website, the registration process is still awaiting validation from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Specifically, the arrival of the international certificate is pending, an essential document for Luís Guilherme to be officially authorized to compete, which could happen at any moment.

Once this issue is resolved, the technical evaluation remains. Luís Guilherme always travels with the Sporting group, as a way to speed up his integration into the squad, but even if the registration is completed in time, starting is practically out of the question. The Brazilian has only had one training session with his teammates and, at best, will be an option from the bench. Nonetheless, circumstances might work in his favor: Sporting is missing ten players, due to injuries, suspensions, and absences caused by the African Cup of Nations (CAN).

With a contract valid until 2030 and a release clause set at 80 million euros, Luís Guilherme is internally seen as the successor to Geovany Quenda. The young Portuguese player has already been acquired by Chelsea for 50 million euros but remains on loan at Sporting until the end of the season. He is currently injured, with a return expected only in March.

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