Leicester's latest promise is Nani's cousin

Sidnei Tavares is close to fulfilling his dream. At 19, this promising midfielder, international with Portugal U19, has recently made his debut under Brendan Rodgers and He has played two league matches. He even enjoyed ten minutes in the second leg against Slavia Prague in the Europa League and now the signing of a new contract is pressing, given the interest of teams like Barça and Bayern. However, beyond the merely sports, his story has a couple of curiosities that he discovers The Athletic. The first, that despite being Portuguese, he grew up in Leicester, where he arrived with just nine months. The second, that he is not the first member of the family with elite football as a way of life, since es cousin to Nani, now an MLS Orlando City player and former United player, among others.

“Nani is her cousin on her mother's side”, explains Marco, Sidnei's father, in an interview with the aforementioned medium. “When she returned to Portugal and heard that he was playing soccer, she put him in contact with Nani and they had a good conversation. He gave him a lot of advice and told him that he would follow his progress. In addition to indicating that they would be in contact. They have never met personally, but it is a great source of inspiration, “he continues.

As we said, Sidnei came to England as a baby, since his family left Cascais and went to Leicester with a plan, to make money for five years, save and return to Portugal. Nineteen years later, Sidnei is still in the East Midlands having burned through all the stages necessary to become a professional footballer. Plus, he has Brendan Rodgers on his side. “He has a lot of quality and he is a real talent. Now we have to get the best of him to take him to the first level”said the coach after a preseason game against Birmingham City.

Under the wing of Brendan Rodgers

Tavares is about a midfielder with arrival who has been playing as '10' in the U23 team. In fact, his debut came in the position of James Maddison, absent against Burnley. He took the place of Choudhury and the team gained dynamism. The next game, against Brighton, has started. Along the course has been alternating training with the first team with the games with the subsidiary, until the time has come to break down the door.

The Athletic reveals that the signing of the new contract has been on the table for a long time, something that Rodgers himself has recently confirmed: “The club has had conversations with their representatives. He is a very talented very young player. He fits the profile of how I want us to play. It has a lot of potential. He still has a lot to do, but he has characteristics that could make him perform really well in the Premier League. I'm pretty sure it will be resolved (the renewal) … “.

Barça and Bayern, attentive

And it is that this new contract fights with the siren songs that reach beyond the Moulineux Stadium, as The Athletic reports that big clubs such as Barcelona or Bayern Munich follow the track. “We have been in Leicester for almost 20 years and we meet a lot of people here … but it all depends on the club and what they can do for us. Football has a short life and sometimes you don't get what you want. If Leicester wants to, they can easily keep Sidnei. There are great clubs behind him (…). Sidnei has a market, but his priority is Leicester “explains Marco. We will see if everything follows the course that the Tavares and Leicester hope and desire. If not, there will be no shortage of fishermen willing to throw the rod at a Sidnei who is much more than Nani's cousin.