Home
Neil Lennon wants longer to work with Rochinha in order to turn him into the finished article.
The Portuguese midfielder is on loan from Benfica until the end of the season but the Wanderers boss has already discussed extending the deal for another 12 months.
The 19-year-old produced a sizzling debut at Ipswich Town on Tuesday night in what was his first-ever senior appearance on these shores.
But Lennon is convinced there is plenty more to come and plans to speak officially with Rochinha’s parent club at the end of the season.
“He’s an outstanding talent and we’d like to work on him for longer,” he told The Bolton News. “I’d like to speak with Benfica about that.
“We’re pleased with his progress.
“I’m in touch with his representatives. His mother and father are here as well and they are all very pleased with the way the club have treated him and the way we’ve coached him.
“It’s up to Benfica and whether they think another year would benefit him or whether they want to take him back and move him forward.”
Rochinha first caught Lennon’s eye playing in the Under-21 Champions League but he has had to be patient as the youngster adapted to life in England before putting him out on the pitch.
Although he had played a handful of games for Benfica’s second string, who play in the second division in Portugal, Lennon feels it would be unfortunate to see the youngster return home without any guarantees of stepping up to first-team level.
“I’m hoping that’s something I can resolve,” he said. “It certainly would be nice to get him for another year because a bit like Zach Clough, he has that unpredictability about him.
“He’s got strong legs, can ride tackles, and he’s got a turn of pace which we hadn’t really seen before, that little burst to get past people.
“He excited me watching from the sidelines and I’m sure he did the fans too.”
Rochinha may not be the last Portuguese import playing for Wanderers if Lennon gets his way, with the Whites boss keen to investigate clubs like Benfica and Sporting Lisbon for potential bargains in the future.
“When you are looking for value for money, and we’re not in a position to spend much, a lot of clubs out there are struggling financially. I think there might be a market there,” he explained.
“Portuguese players are technically very good but tactically they are very well educated as well. They have a good mentality from my own experience.
“Rochinha falls into that category, you only need to tell him to do something once and he picks it up right away.
“There may be others. We had a bid turned down in January for a right-back, so it could be a market we look at. There would be value for money.”
After playing the majority of Tuesday night’s game, it is likely Rochinha will start from the bench against Wigan Athletic this afternoon.
And Lennon believes he has in the teenager a player who could prove to be a game-changer, if needed.
“We had a bounce game against Burnley recently and I just thought he was ready,” he said. “And so it proved, he was outstanding in certain aspects of his game.
“In terms of a performance on your debut it was very, very good and if he’d have finished off that move with Eidur Gudjohnsen in the first half then we would have been talking about that goal for years to come.”
Lennon admits there will be one change in Rochinha’s make-up from Tuesday night, however, after a trip to the barbers.
“Thankfully he had his hair cut yesterday, tidied it up,” he smiled. “I think maybe one of the lads had a word with him.”
Source
The Portuguese midfielder is on loan from Benfica until the end of the season but the Wanderers boss has already discussed extending the deal for another 12 months.
The 19-year-old produced a sizzling debut at Ipswich Town on Tuesday night in what was his first-ever senior appearance on these shores.
But Lennon is convinced there is plenty more to come and plans to speak officially with Rochinha’s parent club at the end of the season.
“He’s an outstanding talent and we’d like to work on him for longer,” he told The Bolton News. “I’d like to speak with Benfica about that.
“We’re pleased with his progress.
“I’m in touch with his representatives. His mother and father are here as well and they are all very pleased with the way the club have treated him and the way we’ve coached him.
“It’s up to Benfica and whether they think another year would benefit him or whether they want to take him back and move him forward.”
Rochinha first caught Lennon’s eye playing in the Under-21 Champions League but he has had to be patient as the youngster adapted to life in England before putting him out on the pitch.
Although he had played a handful of games for Benfica’s second string, who play in the second division in Portugal, Lennon feels it would be unfortunate to see the youngster return home without any guarantees of stepping up to first-team level.
“I’m hoping that’s something I can resolve,” he said. “It certainly would be nice to get him for another year because a bit like Zach Clough, he has that unpredictability about him.
“He’s got strong legs, can ride tackles, and he’s got a turn of pace which we hadn’t really seen before, that little burst to get past people.
“He excited me watching from the sidelines and I’m sure he did the fans too.”
Rochinha may not be the last Portuguese import playing for Wanderers if Lennon gets his way, with the Whites boss keen to investigate clubs like Benfica and Sporting Lisbon for potential bargains in the future.
“When you are looking for value for money, and we’re not in a position to spend much, a lot of clubs out there are struggling financially. I think there might be a market there,” he explained.
“Portuguese players are technically very good but tactically they are very well educated as well. They have a good mentality from my own experience.
“Rochinha falls into that category, you only need to tell him to do something once and he picks it up right away.
“There may be others. We had a bid turned down in January for a right-back, so it could be a market we look at. There would be value for money.”
After playing the majority of Tuesday night’s game, it is likely Rochinha will start from the bench against Wigan Athletic this afternoon.
And Lennon believes he has in the teenager a player who could prove to be a game-changer, if needed.
“We had a bounce game against Burnley recently and I just thought he was ready,” he said. “And so it proved, he was outstanding in certain aspects of his game.
“In terms of a performance on your debut it was very, very good and if he’d have finished off that move with Eidur Gudjohnsen in the first half then we would have been talking about that goal for years to come.”
Lennon admits there will be one change in Rochinha’s make-up from Tuesday night, however, after a trip to the barbers.
“Thankfully he had his hair cut yesterday, tidied it up,” he smiled. “I think maybe one of the lads had a word with him.”
Source