Conrad Harder joined Sporting from Nordsjaelland in the summer and the expectations around the striker are growing.
That is natural, considering he is sharing the dressing room with fellow Scandinavian star Viktor Gyokeres, who remains in red-hot form for the Portuguese giants.
While Gyokeres was at Brighton at one point, Harder could have joined the Seagulls in the summer.
In an interview with TipsBladet, the Danish striker spoke about interest from the Premier League side and why he picked Sporting as his destination.
“There was of course a dialogue (with Brighton), but I think that Sporting was more inviting to me. They had a better plan for me, and it was based on that that I made my choice.”
He also went on to state that he couldn’t reject the offer from Sporting, which was probably more alluring than the Brighton one.
“When an offer of that magnitude comes, it can be difficult for FC Nordsjælland to say no. I had signed a contract with Nordsjælland shortly before and was incredibly happy to be there, but when Sporting came, it was hard to say no.”
The 19-year-old has shown his qualities at the Portuguese club this season, scoring once and assisting once in three games. This came after he had already found the back of the net twice for Nordsjælland earlier in the season.
Many things point to the fact that Harder could well be Sporting’s potential replacement for Gyokeres and if that does happen, Brighton would have missed out on the chance to make the most out of both the opportunities.