WHEN Sporting Lisbon forked out their biggest transfer outlay of the season on an unknown teenage Scot, you could have expected Ryan Gauld to feel under the spotlight to perform in Portugal.
However, the Scotland Under 21s starlet insists he feels under less pressure there than he did at Dundee United.
Gauld secured a dream £3 million move to the Portuguese giants from Tannadice last summer after long being tagged with his 'Mini Messi' nickname amid endless hype about his ability.
Sporting have bloodied him slowly into their side and have given the 19-year-old plenty of time to adjust to a new life. After playing in several League Cup ties, Gauld was finally unleashed in a league game against Rio Ave in January.
And Gauld - who starred for Danny Lennon's Scotland Under 21s' win in Hungary this week - admits he's delighted at the way he's settled into his new life because he doesn't feel under the same amount of pressure as he did in Dundee.
He said: "Of course there was a bit of pressure on me going to Portugal. But I was excited at the thought of a new beginning. There was a lot of focus on me in Scotland. A lot of talk about me and what I was going to do.
"But I wanted to escape that. That's why I was delighted to sign for Sporting because it was like starting again. That was part of my thinking behind the move. To get away from it all and develop as a player behind the scenes.
"People might think the pressure would increase going to a bigger club in a bigger league. But for me it was almost the opposite. I can relax more at Sporting. I was delighted to get out of the limelight that I had at United. When I was there, there was so much talk about stuff I didn't like to read about or hear.
"So going over there was the right move for me, in terms of development. I knew I wouldn't go straight into the first-team. I was always going to have to play for the B team first but that was perfect for me to learn. There was no pressure on me, I could get on with it behind the scenes."
Gauld admits it took some time to settle into Portugal. But he believes he's finally adapted to both the change of football style and lifestyle. And he loved making his bow for Sporting where he was widely praised by coming off the bench and inspiring a 4-2 win.
He said: "I'm in a good place right now, definitely, in my football and in my life. I'm at a really good point in my career. I'm playing games every week and I'm enjoying it.
"I feel more settled in Lisbon now than I did six months ago. It was a big move and it was always going to take time to adapt. If I'm honest, it did take longer than I expected it to. But now, I've been there nine months, and I feel totally at home in Portugal now.
"That's my first year nearly up and it's flown by. I've settled well and I'm really happy. The main thing to begin with was adapting to the way the Portuguese play because it's very different to what I was used to.
"That took a lot of games for the B team before I felt comfortable with Portuguese football and the way they play. But I've been rewarded by a couple of sub appearances for the first-team so everything's going well right now.
"The night when I made my debut in the league was brilliant. It was against good opposition in Rio Ave. To get around 25 minutes and see the tempo the game was played at, was a great experience. I was playing with top players.
"The crowd seemed to take to me. A big deal was made when I went over to sign so the fans were eager to see what I could do. I think they were quite happy to finally see me in action. Hopefully I've not disappointed them."
And while not quite completely fluent in Portuguese yet, Gauld has integrated well with the rest of the Sporting squad.
He said: "I've picked up a fair bit of the language recently. I can now have conversations and stuff off the pitch.
"I'm maturing as a person over here. Living in a different country by myself and not knowing the language has made me grow up. I've matured a lot.
"I had to learn loads of things and do it on my own. It has made me come out of my shell because I was quite shy before I came.
"There are a couple of Portuguese phrases that I've heard the boys saying so I tried to pick them up. But I can't seem to get a grip of them and they're giving me a hard time about it!
"It's not swear words, just slang saying like we'd say in Scotland: "What's happening or what's up?"
"It's just a casual phrase. I think I'm saying it the exact same way as them but they tell me I get it wrong. Maybe it's my Scottish accent!"
Now he's aiming to get more game time in Marco Silva's first team.
He said: "Between now and the end of the season, my aim has to be to be more involved in the first-team.
"I've had a spell where I was in a lot of squads but now I'm back in the B team. They want to dip me in and out. It's to make sure I continue to work hard and know what it takes to make the A team."
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