What’s the story?
One of India’s best young footballers – Abneet Bharti, has completed a short-term move to Portuguese outfit Sport Uniao Sintrense. The 18-year-old previously plied his trade with Spanish side Real Valladolid.
Abneet’s move to Sintrense was completed during the last few days of the winter transfer window and the 18-year-old expressed his delight saying, “I am very excited and eager to learn as much as I can every day from a coach who has played at the very top level.”
The Background
Someone who is a central defender by trade, Bharti was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, making him eligible to represent the Nepalese national side too. The youngster had been playing for the youth sides of Real Valladolid and although he is still young and eligible for U-19 football, he signed for Sintrense to get first team experience.
Apart from having played for Valladolid, Abneet has also played for S-League clubs Geylang and Balestier Khalsa, where he spent two and one season(s), respectively. The youngster has also received offers from clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt, Darmstadt, 1860 Munich and Belgian outfit Anderlecht in the past, but the current FIFA transfer rules for minors prevented him from completing a move to any of the clubs.
The defender also received an offer from an unnamed ISL club in the past.
The finer details
At his new club, Abneet will be mentored by Luis Boa Morte, who happens to be a former Arsenal player and has also played the role of a scout at the North London based club. It was Boa Morte himself, who chose to snap Abneet up, clearly suggestive of the trust that he has placed in the defender to succeed at Sintrense. Boa Morte has also played for other English clubs like Southampton and Fulham as well.
Sintrense, meanwhile, currently play in the third division of Portuguese football, where they are second in the league table and are fighting to gain promotion into the second division. The club from Sintra, Lisbon, happens to be the childhood club of current Portuguese senior national team star Nelson Semedo, who spent five seasons there.
Boa Morte was also the teammate of FIFA Ballon d’or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portugal national team.
Abneet is the youngest player in the current Sintrense team.
What’s next?
With the contract now officially signed, Abneet is set to become a regular first-team player for Sintrense, who are currently aiming to win the third division title this season and achieve promotion to the second division of Portuguese football.
Sportskeeda’s Take
Abneet is considered to be one of India’s best young players right now and the move to another club in Europe suggests that Indian football is certainly on the rise. Considering the number of offers that Abneet has already received from clubs, it won’t be a surprise to see him play for a bigger club in the near future.
The youngster has a lot to offer and the transfer will make sure that his development doesn’t stagnate and he keeps on rising at a steady rate by the time a bigger club comes calling.
