Getty Trincao is due to join Barcelona from Braga in July
Barcelona have been told what to expect from new signing Francisco Trincão by the youngster’s former coach at Portuguese side Braga.
The 20-year-old is due to arrive at Barcelona in July on a five-year deal for a fee of €31 million. Trincão’s contract at the Camp Nou includes a buyout clause set at €500m.
José Carvalho Araujo coached Trincão for six years at Braga and has explained in an interview with Maisfutebol what the Catalan giants can expect from the 20-year-old.
“He always showed an enormous capacity for work, what set him apart was the way he faced things. For him, playing football is a pleasure, a joy, and that is fundamental. For Trincão , it’s like playing with friends on the street or with Barcelona … today he is more mature, perfectly capable of facing professional football.
“What we had to work with most during training was decision making. The fight we had with him was to make him realize that the field is not all the same, there are areas where he can create imbalances, which can benefit the team, and areas where these imbalances can harm us. One cannot risk losing the ball in certain areas of the field, but he has always had an innate ability to unbalance. Personally, I get along very well with him, even today we have a fantastic relationship and he already thanked me for his help, of course.”
Trincão Already Impressing In Portugal
News Trincão would be signing for Barcelona broke in January and seems to have inspired the youngster on the pitch. He managed just one goal before the turn of the year but has netted six times and produced three assists in 2020 before the competition was suspended due to Covid-19.
The Braga youngster’s performances saw him pick up Player of the Month awards for January and February. The Portuguese league was suspended on March 12 but is due to resume in early June.
Trincão’s Braga side will resume in third place in the table, a distant 14 points behind leaders Porto, with 10 games left to play.
Youngster Tipped for Big Things
Trincão is already being tipped for big things at the Camp Nou. Former Barcelona star, Abel Ruiz, who is now Trincão’s team-mate at Braga, has compared him to Lionel Messi.
He told Mundo Deportivo: “I would tell you that he looks like Messi, but you can’t compare anyone to Leo. He is the typical left-hander who has a good dribble, who is skilled. If he plays on the right, he goes inside and hits the whip. On the left he overlaps and scores many goals.”
Meanwhile, Braga president Antonio Salvador has also talked up the youngster. In a live chat during lockdown, he said Trincão was one of the club’s “great players” who would “mark the next decade” at Barcelona.
Trincão has also been happy to talk about his new life at Barcelona. He told the club’s website he wants to learn from Messi and hopes to “bring my skill, my left foot, and my youth.”
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