Union obtain Portuguese defender on loan

FC Union Berlin officially confirmed the loan of Portuguese central defender Diogo Leite on Saturday afternoon.

Twenty-three-year-old center back Diogo Leite will wear the colors of Köpenick in the upcoming season. Union jBerlin confirmed a one-year-loan for the FC Porto academy man on Saturday. The left-footer spent the year on loan at FC Braga last year, accruing the experience not only of 23 league games, but also six Europa League fixtures.

“After a total of five years as a professional in Portugal, I am very much looking forward to a new challenge in my career,” the newcomer is quoted in a press release made public by the club, “In Berlin, I personally see the chance to prove myself in a top European league and in the Europa League as part of my further development.”

“We see in Diogo a highly exciting and still malleable player who has already gained international experience,” FCU sporting director Oliver Ruhnert added in a statement, “He’s flexible and versatile, lending us more options in defense.”

Specifics on a built-in purchase clause and potential loan fee built into the arrangement cannot be confirmed at this time. Transfermarkt’s German site the existence of such provisions, but German footballing media sources do not mention them in their reports.

🗣 Oliver #Ruhnert über Neuzugang Diogo #Leite pic.twitter.com/mzpSCYWcKi

— 1. FC Union Berlin (@fcunion) July 16, 2022

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