Atlético is tied to one of the revelations of Portuguese football. Samuel Lino, a 22-year-old winger from Gil Vicente, will be a red-and-white footballer until 2027, a long-term bet by the sports management, which tries to find market opportunities. The Brazilian has exploded this season and has 12 goals and five assists so far this season.
The red and white entity was ahead of several suitors in the race for Lino, including Porto, who bet the strongest on him, and Benfica. Atlético will pay about 7 million for the footballer, a right-hander used to playing on the far left to lead inside, as in the great goal he scored against Benfica. “He has quality, he has natural talent, he is strong one-on-one, he is unbalanced, he can win a game at any time, he is growing tactically…”, valued Ricardo Soares, Gil Vicente’s coach.
Samuel Lino will close a cycle of three seasons at Gil Vicente, where he has not stopped growing, to make the leap to the Wanda Metropolitano. An operation similar to that of Diogo Jota, whom Atleti signed in 2016 from Paços de Ferreira. However, the Portuguese international did not make his debut in an official match with the red and white shirt and now he shines with Liverpool and with his national team. And the club has other youngsters getting fired up outside like Marcos Paulo (Famaliçao), Nehuén (Udinese) and homegrown players such as Manu Sánchez (Osasuna), Riquelme and Camello (Mirandés)…