Sporting CP boss Rui Borges has been speaking about Sunderland transfer target Geny Catamo.
Sporting CP head coach Rui Borges has hit back at Mozambique national team boss Chiquinho Conde over recent comments he made about the future of Sunderland target Geny Catamo.
The Black Cats are understood to be pursuing a deal for the winger, who plays under Conde at international level, with suggestions that the player himself is open to the prospect of a move to Wearside this summer - even as his current employers stand firm in their unwillingness to sanction an exit.
To that end, Conde gave an interview with Radio Antena 1 earlier this month urging Sporting to consider a sale. He said: “He [Catamo] sees many of his colleagues moving to other leagues with financial advantages. A footballer's career doesn't last forever, and he also wants to seize this moment.
“This ends up messing with your subconscious and, honestly, I think that Sporting, sooner or later, will have to let him go, provided the proposal is also good for the club. I imagine he’s going through a period of anxiety.
“Geny has already given so much, so much to Sporting, and I think this is the ideal moment to take the next step. As a national team coach, I would also be pleased, because I would find an even more motivated player, and the national team would benefit sportingly from that change.”
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But for his part, Borges has delivered a blunt retort to the Mozambique boss, reasserting Sporting’s stance while also praising Catamo’s professionalism in the face of the widespread speculation surrounding him. He said: “Regarding Geny's national team coach, I'm not even going to respond to that.
“We're at Sporting, the players are wanted by several teams, we have to know how to deal with that, as a coach I also have to help with this emotional balance. That's how the market works, and your work too. I'm focused on the day-to-day, on Geny's response, and everyone else's. Geny has been doing a fantastic job, he's been playing well, and he's completely focused on Sporting.”
Last season Catamo registered 47 appearances for Sporting, scoring eight goals and assisting five more.
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