Peterborough United fans will recall the name Leonardo da Silva Lopes from his early promise shown during the Grant McCann era, but some may be unaware of where the midfielder has played since his departure from London Road.
Peterborough United’s academy has produced several first-team talents in recent years. The likes of Harrison Burrows and Ronnie Edwards are both currently enjoying masses of Championship game time, while exciting striker Ricky-Jade Jones is recovering from injury.
Yet few have shown such potential so early on in their career as Lopes did. Over six years ago, he made his debut for Posh in a 4-3 victory over Crawley Town and was immediately being touted for lofty heights by club chairman Darragh MacAnthony and Director of Football Barry Fry.
In fact, Lopes was even described as the ‘best player seen since Bestie (George Best) came to United’ by Fry, an extremely ambitious statement given the briefness of his playing career.
After being at the Cambridgeshire side since the age of 14, Lopes began to gain further first-team experience under the youthful management of McCann. In just under two years, the teenager played a total of 86 games while becoming a regular in the starting eleven.
He also made a singular appearance for Portugal’s Under-20 squad, coming off the bench in a 1-0 loss to Germany in March 2018.
The summer after McCann departed spelled the end of his time at Peterborough. The last couple of months had been difficult for the player, with the fanmbase often laying the blame for poor results at his feet. After the club failed to achieve its main aim of promotion, Lopes wanted to challenge himself at a higher level of football, and was subsequently sold to Wigan Athletic for a fee reportedly worth £1.5million.
However, Championship football originally proved difficult for the Portuguese, and after six months he had made just three appearances for the Latics. On Deadline Day of January 2019, Lopes was sent out on loan to League One side Gillingham for the remainder of the season.
After varying success back in League One, the former Posh-man now found himself back at a club with few prospects of first team football. Luckily, his previous boss McCann had just taken over at fellow second tier side Hull City, and made Lopes one of his first signings as manager.
During the next season, the midfielder enjoyed regular first-team football again, making 40 Championship appearances for the Tigers while scoring two goals in the process. Lopes became one of the top performers in a struggling Hull side, and despite the club succumbing to relegation he had proven his worth at a higher standard of football.
McCann failed to convince the playmaker to stick around for another League One season, and having already made his way through four English clubs in such a short period of time, Lopes decided to try his luck abroad.
Nowadays, the 22-year-old plays for Belgian First Division side Cercle Brugge, having moved from the KCOM Stadium last September. After playing 15 times last season, Lopes is yet to make an appearance this campaign. However, the midfielder has experienced an abundance of first-team football for someone so young. With many years left ahead of him, it’s still uncertain whether Lopes will live up to his early Peterborough potential.
