Tiago Tomás: Profile
Name: Tiago Tomás
Date of birth: June 16, 2002
Nationality: Portugal
Position: Forward
Height: 1.80m
Tiago Tomás: Introduction
Portugal is experiencing a golden era of talent coming through and the clubs in the homeland are heavily responsible for this. Sporting Lisbon have both invested and developed their own young talent with Pedro Gonçalves a good example of talent being brought in. From the burgeoning starlets coming through, Tiago Tomas has burst onto the scene as a versatile striking force for the capital club.
Tiago Tomás: Background
Lisbon born, Tomas joined the Sporting Lisbon academy when he was just 12 years old and has since come through the ranks at the Portuguese giant. It was known that Tomas was a special talent at the club and they moved quickly to sign him up to the club for the long-term.
"I am very grateful for what I have been achieving. I know it is the result of my work, but I also know that many people would like to be where I am. I will continue to work every day, as I have always done since I was little," said Tomas upon signing his first senior deal with the club which included a €60 million buyout clause in June of 2020.
"Today, I see that sacrifices that I made since I was a kid and that everything I gave up starts to be worthwhile. The ambition is growing and I hope to achieve many things with this symbol on my chest ", he stressed, in statements to the media of the club."
He made his debut just a month later to come on as a substitute late in Sporting's win over Gil Vicente. He took to his Instagram after the game to scribe his excitement and thanks for the moment.
"A day that will certainly be marked throughout my life! Those close to me know how much I worked and how much I waited for this moment. Proud to be part of this group, we are all to be congratulated for yet another victory. Let's go for more," he wrote.
He has since gone on to score for the Lisbon-based club and is highly thought of within the setup of the Portuguese national sides having represented the country at youth level.
Expert insight on Tiago Tomás
101 spoke to Sporting Lisbon, Portuguese football expert and Outside of the Boot writer Jose Miguel Saravia.
"He has been fantastic this season for Sporting Lisbon. Tiago has been one of the most important players for the club this season. Being only 18, he is still eligible to play for the under-19s which is surprising that he can be so important for the title contenders, if everything works out.
He is astounding with his intensity in the game. He has fantastic pace, he is so fast. He may not have that goalscoring instinct yet, but he is not an out and out striker. Not like when you think of Aguero or Aubameyang, he does not have that instinct yet, Tomas has been used mostly as a right forward for Sporting, playing in a 3-4-3 system.
He is incredibly versatile, and that is due to his tactical knowledge, technical capacity and his commitment to the team. His offensive and defensive commitments.
I do think that Tiago Tomas is not yet ready for a move to a league like the Premier League. I think it is a bit early to move to such a league even though I believe he could have a place at a club like Arsenal."
Tactical Overview of Tiago Tomás
With Tomas being the versatile player he is, the forward's goals this season have come in different forms. From headed finishes to long-range finessed strikes on goal, Tomas has shown to have a range of options when scoring goals.
What these examples show also is the quality that Tomas has with both feet. Whilst he is known to be predominantly right-footed, the strikes with his left provide evidence of his ambidextrous talents.
As mentioned by Jose, Tomas typically tends to play towards the right-hand side and you can see from his shots that he picks the ball up on the right to take his opportunities. His positioning is shown in the below heat map.
But the forward is not limited to his abilities as a forward and has integrated a solid passing attribute to his game.
For a player of just 18 years of age, starting matches for the title-chasing Sporting Lisbon, it is no wonder to see the strong interest in him from outside. Tomas can score and bring in his teammates at an already very young age.
Should he develop these attributes further either at Sporting or another club, his speed, size and skill could combine to form a formidable forward for any side.
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