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Sidnei Tavares: Leicester’s youngster aiming to emulate his Premier League winning cousin

19-year-old Sidnei Tavares made his first Premier League start for Leicester City against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, following up his league debut as a substitute against Burnley and first-team bow against Slavia Prague in the Europa League.

But who is Tavares, and can Foxes fans expect to see more of the young Portuguese in years to come? Primarily a box-to-box central midfielder, Tavares joined the club way back in 2010 as a nine-year-old and signed his first professional contract in March 2019.

Born in Portugal, Tavares’ family moved to England at a very young age. Though he almost certainly would qualify to play international football for England through the residency rules, there is no suggestion he would want to having gained caps for Portugal at under-19 and under-20 level to date. Footballing ability runs in the family it seems. Tavares’ cousin is none other than four-time Premier League champion Luís Carlos Almeida da Cunha, known to you and I as Nani.

While there is no expectation just yet that Tavares will reach the same heights as Nani for club or country, his potential is turning heads already. With his contract at Leicester currently set to expire at the end of June, Tavares was sensationally linked with a move to Barcelona back in January, before he’d even made an appearance for the Foxes first team.

Talks are ongoing between Tavares and Leicester with the promise of first-team football likely to be at the top of the agenda. Brendan Rodgers acknowledged the midfielder’s talent last week and is backing it up by trusting him in the first team, despite heavy competition from the likes of Nampalys Mendy, Hamza Choudhury and regulars Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans.

The Foxes will be loath to let Tavares leave for free having spent over a decade on his development so will surely do everything they can to get him to sign on. Expect to see the name Sidnei Tavares a lot more between now and the end of the season.

Elsewhere, this Chelsea defender is set to be rewarded for his recent performances with a new contract.

Sam Hanys

A miserable Ipswich Town fan.

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