Defender Henrique Jocú (ex-Benfica), aged 19, the most recent addition to Portimonense for the new football season, was presented yesterday at the stadium of the Algarve club.
Rodiney Sampaio, president of SAD do Portimonense, announced that the player has a contract for the next three seasons, with an option for another one, while 50% of his pass will belong to Benfica. It is "a promise" of national football, added the official.
The young player, born in Guinea-Bissau but of Portuguese nationality, comes from the training levels of the eagles, having made his debut, last season, in the II League in Benfica's B team. He was also part of the under-23 team and had several international appearances by Portugal's youth teams.
The president of SAD explained that the young defensive midfielder was hired by «indication of coach Paulo Sérgio, to strengthen the squad» for the next season.
For Henrique Jocú, coming to Portimonense was a "great opportunity" that he seized, given the "conditions" offered to him. It is «an opportunity that will make me evolve a lot».
"I'm just one more to help the team achieve its goals in the I League," he added. "I'm hoping for a long, very tough season, which will demand a lot from me, but also from the team," said the Algarve side.
"I've been following Portimonense for a few years, who play good football." This, together with the good "references" given to him by players from the Algarve team, led the young former Benfica player to head south, to make his debut in the I League.
At the end of the presentation, the SAD president of the only Algarve club in the first level of national football said that Portimonense is in the market looking for other reinforcements, namely defenses (central and lateral), a winger and "maybe a spearhead" .
However, if there are exits, the Algarve may have to look for more players to strengthen their squad. Taking into account that the transfer window is still open, Rodiney Sampaio spoke of the interest of foreign clubs in several of the parts of the Portimonense squad.
Regarding striker Beto, there are clubs from «Germany, England, Italy and France» interested in his signing. For the goalkeeper Samuel Portugal, an Italian club showed interest, with proposals for midfielders Lucas Fernandes and Dener and defenders Lucas Possignolo and Moufi.
However, clarified the president of SAD, despite these expressions of interest, until now "no concrete proposal for the departure of players" has arrived, at least one with "conditions that please Portimonense and the player."
Among the possible signings, Rodiney Sampaio admitted the "hypothesis" of striker Samuel Wanderlei (20 years old), from Vitória da Bahia (Brazil).
However, he assured, any new signings depend "on the permanence or not of several players" and always go through the assessment that coach Paulo Sérgio makes of the squad.
Having already started the daily training, today, Wednesday, July 14th, Portimonense will play a friendly with Sporting, which is training in Lagos.
All to prepare the Portimão team for the new 2021/2022 season, whose objective is, according to Rodiney Sampaio, "to achieve the best possible classification", "to score points and achieve the goals as quickly as possible".
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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