And what if Sporting had to sell one of their Euro stars?

It was the plan all along – to avoid free-spending on a truckload of players in order to invest in a manager who could get the best of what was already at the club. Jorge Jesus didn’t disappoint when he notoriously hopped over the Lisbon fence to join Sporting, bringing back the adrenaline of a title race that had for too long escaped the Lions’ grasp.

Portuguese football is better for it and so are those who chose to stick around for the next chapter in Sporting’s renaissance. Target man Islam Slimani scored more goals last season than in his previous two years in Portugal combined; meanwhile the green half of Lisbon can look on with great pride that at least three of their leading players last season graduated from the famous Alcochete academy.

It’s with little surprise that we then saw four Sporting men star for Portugal at Euro 2016. As if you needed reminding, Portugal went on to win their first major competition versus the hosts, France, with each of the four Sporting representatives leaving their mark throughout the journey.

Rui Patrício made saves from start to finish en route to the final, leaving the best till last when he acrobatically denied Antoine Griezmann from giving France an early lead in the Stade de France. William Carvalho offered tranquillity and additional technical quality from deep that Danilo Pereira couldn’t provide, and once Portugal boss Fernando Santos turned towards the 24-year-old, he didn’t look back.

Adrien Silva’s impact may have gone unnoticed, but his pragmatic approach, in particular his sacrificial duty of thwarting Luka Modrić’s influence in the last 16 tie versus Croatia, is why he remained in the starting XI. João Mário’s form throughout the tournament wasn’t the best, perhaps a consequence of being shoehorned into a midfield packed with central operators and subsequently being forced out wide. But even then, looking back, the Sporting man’s far more praiseworthy performance versus Hungary may have been crucial.

Such exposure from Portugal’s most successful international venture is sure to attract the googly eyes of big European sharks, giving Sporting a decision to make. The club’s finances have come a long way from the pre-2013 era, and meanwhile the Lisbon giants may have found themselves in more legal battles than they would have liked, the sheer timespan of such cases makes me believe Sporting have already prepared rescue budgets should they need them.

That’s just the expectation on my behalf, however, and even if the club’s finances was among the healthiest in sight, it still wouldn’t prevent any other club from cashing in on a star or two and potentially reinvesting some of that money to address visible weaknesses, some of which were very evident throughout Sporting’s latest pre-season campaign.

And so I pose the question; if Sporting were to sell one of their prized assets this summer, who would that player be?

Rui Patrício

Recent reports in the Portuguese press sees Portugal’s number one linked with a move to Premier League club Manchester City. It’s a report I personally find a little hard to believe, since City’s new boss Pep Guardiola often looks for goalkeepers with sound footwork, which isn’t Patrício’s game. Regardless, I’d imagine the goalkeeper of the Euro 2016 Team of the Tournament has been earmarked by a fair few clubs that operate from a greater financial vantage point than Sporting’s, but it’s a prospect the Lisbon club simply has to refuse right now.

Ažbe Jug and Vladimir Stojković won’t be reminiscing over their pre-season campaign in a hurry, meanwhile finding a suitable back-up to the number one jersey is proving tough enough for Sporting. The difference made once Patrício was between the sticks shows just how indispensable the Portuguese shot-stopper is.

William Carvalho

The Arsenal ship appears to have finally sailed - the Gunners instead settled for Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Granit Xhaka to fill their defensive midfield position - but the interest in William Carvalho from the Premier League continues. Everton and their new-found wealth are the latest to be linked to Sporting’s number 14, but his absence was very evident in the middle of the park throughout this summer.

21-year-old João Palhinha still looks very raw and will require time and patience if he’s to nail down a spot in Jesus’ first team, whereas new signing Radosav Petrovic already shows signs of being a preferably forgettable summer transfer.

A player of William’s quality will eventually have to leave Portuguese football if he’s to excel in his position, but for the moment, his influence and profile in the squad is of the greatest importance for a team heading for Champions League football.

Adrien Silva

The Sporting captain is another to be linked with Ronald Koeman’s side, but he’s sure to be one Jesus will fight tooth and nail to keep within his ranks. The reason for Adrien gaining the captaincy from Patrício has been made very apparent, with the Portuguese midfielder conveying the hunger associated with his manager’s style of play.

Sporting fans live in hope that Marcelo Meli can stand as an effective deputy to their skipper; with the number eight position also looking to be troublesome throughout the club’s tour in Switzerland. That only accentuates further the importance that Adrien bears in a Sporting shirt, from his individual qualities to the physical translation of the club’s values he presents on the pitch, the 27-year-old is one the fans will be keen to see in green and white for many more years.

João Mário

Jesus set João Mário free on the right flank last season, allowing for a compact midfield and for the 23-year-old to express himself both centrally and wide. The decision was repaid with great form from the Portugal international, highly regarded as one of the best in the Primeira Liga’s 2015/16 campaign.

Interest from the likes of Inter Milan has soon followed and with it has come Sporting’s hardball stance of pointing towards the midfielder’s €60 million release clause. Such actions haven’t pleased João Mário’s camp, however, who now appear to be angling for a move or an improvement to the contract signed just last year.

The Sporting faithful would unequivocally choose to keep all of their best players, but if they had to relinquish one of them this season, João Mário might just be the one.

For starters, the Lisbon outfit might not have to look too far for a replacement, as Gelson Martins and Daniel Podence enter the fray. The central influence can then be made up by attacking midfielder Alan Ruiz, highly-tipped to be deployed as a second striker behind Slimani.

Couple that with the fact that Sporting are still in the market looking for reinforcements in attack, a new centre back, a backup goalkeeper and even, possibly, a new left back, the money earned from an eventual João Mário sale could go a long in funding those changes and causing the least damage possible that a big departure may pose.

Should Sporting succumb to the realities of the transfer market, the sale of João Mário should stand as the Lions’ safest bet.

By Patrick Ribeiro