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Kutuzov vital for Sporting chances

Sporting Clube de Portugal have signed Milan AC striker Vitali Kutuzov on loan.

Sporting Clube de Portugal have signed Vitali Kutuzov to fill the gap left by Mario Jardel ahead of their UEFA Champions League campaign.

Italian interest
The Portuguese champions have signed the Belarus striker from Milan AC on a one-year loan. The signing of 22-year-old forward Kutuzov was a coup for Sporting as the likes of Torino Calcio and SSC Napoli were reported to be interested in the €6m-rated man. To cap a busy spell of transfer activity, Sporting have also brought Brazilian playmaker Marcos Paulo to Lisbon from Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte.

High expectations
Kutuzov's departure from the San Siro follows the arrival of Jon Dahl Tomasson and Rivaldo to a Milan forward line that already boasted Andriy Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi. Sporting have high hopes he can compensate for the loss of last season's top scorer Jardel, should last season's top scorer continue with his threat to no longer play in Lisbon.

Jardel included
Sporting executive director José Eduardo Bettencourt has said that Jardel will be included in the club's Champions League plans despite the Brazil striker's desire to leave amid marital problems. Last month, the European Golden Shoe winner claimed he was in "no psychological condition to stay in Portugal", following his wife's decision to file for divorce in a Brazilian court.

Three caps
Marcos Paulo, 25, is an attacking midfield player capped three times by his country. He has spent the last six campaigns with Cruzeiro but was loaned to Serie A club Udinese Calcio last season, where he scored once in 14 matches.

Disciplinary problems
Sporting hope he can help them cope with the two-month absence of João Pinto, after the Portugal forward was banned until mid-October because of his disciplinary problems at the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals and the departure of rising star Hugo Viana to Newcastle United FC.

 

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