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Portugal young gun William Carvalho can be their Busquets

Name: William Carvalho Country: Portugal Club: Sporting Lisbon Position: Midfield   The firs...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.58 5 Jun 2014


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Portugal young gun William Car...

Portugal young gun William Carvalho can be their Busquets

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.58 5 Jun 2014


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Name: William Carvalho

Country: Portugal

Club: Sporting Lisbon

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Position: Midfield

 

The first time I saw William Carvalho play was the October defeat to FC Porto. The 22-year-old found the net from a corner in what was an early top-of-the-table clash.

Soon after that, the midfielder would make his debut for Portugal, earning his first call up to the national team in November for the playoffs against Sweden.

The Angolan-born player made his debut as a substitute in that second leg where Cristiano Ronaldo would score a sensational hat-trick.

 

Profile

A defensive midfielder, William has been a key figure for a Sporting Lisbon side which has ended years of underachievement by finishing in the top two domestically this season.

In an impressive campaign which saw him linked with Manchester United among others, William won the Portuguese League’s Player of the Month award four times this season, claiming the accolade in October, November, December and March.

Tall and physically strong, the Sporting academy graduate has been praised for his maturity, positional sense and the way he protects his back four. Snuffing out danger is his greatest asset, while his tidy distribution has also been noted.

In our Team 33 Plus preview of Portugal, Portugoal.net's Vasco Mota Pereira profiled the player, comparing him to Barcelona and Spain's Sergio Busquets. 

 

Interesting Stats

Only Sporting and Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio has played more minutes for the Lisbon side this season and William is among the Top 20 players in Portugal in terms of minutes played, despite his tender age.
In spite of his defensive brief, he has also found the net four times in the league this season.

 

This summer

William might only have two caps but his form and obvious talent mean he is a shoe-in for the Portugal squad. He will most likely compete with Miguel Veloso for a starting spot, although he could play alongside the former Sporting man if Portugal need two defensive midfielders.

William started and played 75 minutes in the recent 5 – 1 friendly win over Cameroon which suggests that he is firmly in manager Paulo Bento’s thoughts.

Vasco Mota Pereira gave his take on Carvalho's prospects in our Team 33 interview.


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