Sporting stalwart: Ioannidis has been on our radar for ages | OneFootball

Fotis Ioannidis may have returned to Sporting's radar with rumors of a possible departure of Conrad Harder this summer.

With the market in motion, Rui Borges confirmed Sporting's interest in Fotis Ioannidis. The coach of the Alvalade Club was heavily 'bombarded' with rumors this transfer window and ended up talking about several names that have been linked to the green and whites.

"I haven't talked about market players. Then, at the end, we can talk about whatever you want. There are three identified players. Ioannidis has been identified for a long time here at Sporting. Yeremay has enormous potential. Jota is someone I worked with. It's normal to talk about them. The best time to do it is at the end of the market, when it closes," he began by saying.

When asked if Ioannidis is being considered to replace Conrad Harder, Rui Borges reminded that the lions have to be "prepared": "We are talking about Sporting, a big club. It has very capable departments and is always prepared. The entire structure... We are prepared for any departure, not just the players being talked about. We are in a big team. We had a great season, and it's natural that Sporting players are sought after. We always have to be prepared for Sporting's demands. Last week I said there were clauses. If they are triggered and the player wants to leave, we can't do anything. But we always have to be prepared for the market's demands, to anticipate things."

With two consecutive victories in the last two matches, Rui Borges' lions have six points and occupy the first place in the table. The island team, with the same number of games played, has only one point, after a draw and a defeat.

Sporting will return to the field next Saturday, August 23, against Nacional, in a match valid for the third round of the Liga Portugal Betclic. The duel between the lions and the islanders will be played at 18:00, at Choupana, in Madeira.

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