The loan of Arsenal attacker Joel Campbell has been proving to be a very good deal for Sporting. Arsene Wenger finally agreed to let Capmbell out in the summer, after Sporting had made several attempts to sign the player.
The Portuguese club released their yearly accounts on Thursday, and as revealed by the newspaper Record, they paid only €412k to have the Costa Rican player for one year.
Despite not having a regular place in the starting eleven, Campbell has been very useful for Sporting.
In his 12 appearances (starting only five), he has three goals and one assist. That’s much better than Lazar Markovic from Liverpool, for whom the Portuguese club paid three times more for a temporary deal.
Campbell is seen as such a better signing than Markovic, that it’s a surprise he was such better value. The Costa Rican has also received much bigger backing from the Portuguese club.
Portuguese newspapers frequently publish stories explaining Sporting manager Jorge Jesus is very close to finding Campbell a spot in the starting eleven, as the player’s form has been growing. Jesus has sown a great deal of faith in the Arsenal owned player and it looks to be paying off for him.
Since Campbell joined Arsenal from Saprissa in 2011 for €1m, this is his fifth loan. He’s already been at Lorient, Real Betis, Olympiacos and Villarreal.
Given how keen Sporting are to make the move work, it would be no surprise if they’re looking longer term and may try and convince Wenger and Arsenal on a permanent deal.
