The AS Saint-Étienne continues its summer recruitment with the arrival of Chico Lamba, a 22-year-old Portuguese central defender. This signature marks a historic moment for the club, making Lamba the eighth Portuguese player to wear the green jersey. Trained at the Sporting CP and having made his weapons at FC Arouca, this 1m90 player distinguished himself by his physical qualities, defensive strength and regularity in Liga Portugal, where he played 27 games last season, with even a goal and a decisive pass to his credit. Its recent participation in Euro Espoirs 2025 with Portugal’s U21 selection demonstrates its potential and modern profile, perfectly adapted to ASSE’s ambitions.

The arrival of Chico Lamba is a double strategy for AS Saint-Étienne: strengthening the team in the short term while investing in a player with a strong development potential. Lamba arrives with the ambition to win a lasting victory and to mark his name in the history of the club, like players like Saliba or Fofaná who knew a revelation in Saint-Étienne before flourishing elsewhere. His exemplary mind, solid technical training and rare physical profile make him a player ready to take up the challenge of League 2.

The recruitment of Chico Lamba is a continuation of a policy of strengthening the staff of Stéphanois, with particular attention to Portuguese players. While most of the Portuguese precedents wearing the ASSE colours had only one short passage, some such as Hernâni or Postiga were able to prevail. Lamba thus represents an ambitious bet, that of becoming the first Portuguese to truly mark the history of the club, while contributing to the sporting success of AS Saint-Étienne in the years to come.