Recruited at a high price this winter, Vitinha has played very little since his arrival at OM. And that should not change by the end of the season.
You can be the most expensive recruit in the history of your club, and change absolutely nothing in the season of the team you have just joined. This is the case of the enigma Vitinha, who plays very little since his arrival on the Canebière, and who drags like a ball the price of his transfer (32 million euros, including bonuses).
Released after 45 minutes for his first start against Nice, the Portuguese then chained flash appearances: 1 minute against PSG in the Cup, 7 minutes in Clermont, 0 in Toulouse, 10 minutes against Paris in the league, 24 minutes against Annecy in the Cup, 6 minutes in Rennes, and nothing at all against Strasbourg, where Igor Tudor preferred to leave Jordan Veretout as a false center forward at the end of the game.
So, is there a problem with the former Braga player? “Vitinha is young, you have to give him time, replies Antonio Soares, journalist for Diario de Noticias, in the columns of La Provence. There is a gap between the French and Portuguese championships. And OM are a very demanding club, with a lot of pressure. We will see the real Vitinha next season. »
Tudor: “He does a good job”
Asked about the subject at a press conference, Igor Tudor nevertheless tries to maintain the illusion. “He’s a player I’m happy with, he’s doing a good job. He has to adapt to the championship, it’s a very physical championship, so it’s not easy, confided Olympian coach at a press conference this Friday. It takes a little time and it takes a little more. But we can count on him by the end of the championship knowing that there are still a lot of matches. »
There are still a lot of matches, of course, but a little less since OM were knocked out in the Coupe de France. And as Tudor continues to maintain his faith in Alexis Sanchez to play the centre-forward role, Vitinha only has room to exist. He will have to be patient.
