Francisco Trincao struggling as ‘performance worsens’ after Wolves exit
Former Wolves loanee Francisco Trincao is struggling to regain his form at Sporting Lisbon and O Jogo reports that the Portuguese giants are concerned about the former Premier League winger.
After difficult spells at the Camp Nou and Molineux, the Portugal international returned to his Iberian homeland in the summer to rediscover the magic that once netted Barcelona £26m.
Trincao has scored just four goals in 19 league games in his second spell at Sporting. He also started on the bench in the last two Premier League games.
And Ricardo Gomes, who once worked as an exercise physiologist at Sporting, believes Trincao’s struggles are partly a result of the sky-high standards he set at Braga in his pre-Barca days.
Francisco Trincao returns to Sporting Lisbon after his spell at Wolves
“The player raised very high expectations,” explains Gomes. “I thought the coach (Ruben Amorim) could be patient with him and give him chances. (But) Trincao needs to reset his expectations. He must lessen the burden placed on him.
“Every time he plays he wants to show his talent and exactly the opposite happens. He becomes tense, the stress increases and his performance deteriorates.
“He likes to go one on one and finish chances. It is very important for him to score goals. But it takes confidence to shoot from a distance. All of this affects a player whose attribute is his good skills.”
Accordingly Fabrizio Romano, there is a £9m buy-in clause in Trincao’s contract. So Barcelona are set to take another massive loss against a player who couldn’t live up to his staggering price tag in Catalonia.
Trincao, in his defence, made an impressive start after returning to Portugal in the summer. He was Primeira Liga’s Young Player of the Month in December and class, as they say, lasts.
Sporting hope that Trincao’s current form is therefore only temporary.
“Trincao is an incredible player with a lot of character and remarkable quality,” former Braga team-mate Abel Ruiz told PortuGoal.
“He’s a great dribbler, he can get past his man on either side; right left. And he can shoot very well. He’s a very complete player. I would say he resembles (Lionel) Messi.”
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