Barcelona loanee Francisco Trincao is back in form with Sporting CP, following a man of the match performance against Casa Pia on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s side remain in the Europa League quarter-finals against Juventus, but are battling it out to return to the competition next year in the Portuguese league. They currently sit fourth, five points behind Braga with seven games to go. Only third will be sufficient for the Europa League next year.
They looked as if they might drop further behind, as Casa Pia came from behind to level things at 3-3 on Sunday, but Trincao, who had opened the scoring in the first minute, completed a hat-trick in the 85th minute to win it. It his 5th goal in his last three league appearances following a tricky spell.
Sport say Barcelona are very happy with their deal for Trincao. The 23-year-old is on loan at Sporting, which they €3m for, as well as taking on €1.2m in his salary. They will be obligated to buy 50% of his rights for €7m, with Sporting mathematically safe from relegation too.
The Blaugrana will also retain 50% of any future sale for Trincao. With performances like this supposedly attracting Premier League interest, Barcelona will be hoping a major offer comes in.
Despite Barcelona reportedly being happy with the way things are going, it should be said that the club are still some way to recouping the €31m they originally spent on him. Trincao was not given much of a shot at Camp Nou, and currently has to be included in the legacy of poor transfer business under former President Josep Maria Bartomeu.
