Sundowns coach on replacing Ribeiro

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso has explained why his new Portuguese signings, Nuno Santos and Miguel Reisinho, are not meant to replace the departed Lucas Ribeiro.

Ribeiro, who was last season's PSL Footballer of the Season, left to join CyD Leonesa in the Spanish second tier after the attacking midfielder scored 21 goals and made 14 assists for Sundowns.

Meanwhile, Sundowns have signed Santos from Portugal, who also plays as an attacking midfielder. Another Portuguese midfielder, Reisinho, is arriving this week, but coach Cardoso insists they are not coming to replace Ribeiro.

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“No player will replace Lucas because that’s not what we are looking for but we want to reinforce the team and every player has their own characteristics," Cardoso told the media. "Neither Nuno and Miguel Reisinho have the characteristics that Lucas had.

“Mamelodi Sundowns will develop to be a different team collectively than it was in the past. Lucas was a player that could solve problems alone and these kinds of games like today, he would have helped a lot," the Portuguese coach concluded.