Football, Lecce focuses on Veiga: N'Dri also on the ramp

In the 2025/2026 season, which will kick off on Saturday 23 August, with the away match against Genoa, scheduled for 18:30, Lecce fans will have the opportunity to get to know and understand how much central defenders Thiago Gabriel and Elijah Scott, right back Danilo Veiga and winger Konan N'Dri can give to their team. These are the four players signed on a permanent basis last January by the club on via Colonel Costadura. With the exception of 19-year-old Scott, the other three have all made a few appearances and played a certain amount of minutes but, having arrived during the tournament, in a style of football they were not used to, and having to fit into a well-defined group, they have never had the continuity of use that is necessary to express themselves at the top. In view of the new season, however, they will be part of the group from the beginning of preparation and will therefore have the opportunity to play their cards to the best of their ability.

Of the four, Veiga is the one who has played the most minutes, giving the impression of having interesting numbers. He was more convincing in the attacking phase (net of the "already made" goal that he "wasted" on the Fiorentina pitch) than in the non-possession phase, but this is a characteristic of many modern full-backs. The Portuguese (but also has a Brazilian passport), who will turn 23 on September 25, has collected 13 appearances, for a total of 365', too few for a definitive judgement, despite having been part of the starting eleven twice. Pantaleo Corvino and Stefano Trinchera took him from Estrela Amadora, a team with which, in the first part of the competitive season, he played 15 games (with 2 assists served to teammates who scored), 14 of which as a starter, for a total of 1,283'.

In 2025/2026, Veiga should be the one to compete with the more experienced Frederick Guilbert for the right-back role in the back four that will be set up by Eusebio Di Francesco. N'Dri has been used by Marco Giampaolo in 11 games, in 2 of which from the first minute, for a total of 299'. He prefers the right flank, where he has often seemed slippery and skilled at beating his man in one-on-one situations. At the same time, however, he got a bit lost when it came to making the final choice. Against Venezia, at home, he hit the post in a sensational way that still cries out for vengeance. For him too, the minutes he played were too few to express an adequate evaluation. The club signed him from OH Leuven, where he made 24 appearances, with 3 goals and 3 assists, for a usage of 1,593'. On paper, the Ivorian, who will turn 25 on October 27, is a solid and good-level footballer.

He will remain in Giallorossi and will fight with Santiago Pierotti (except for the departure of the latter who has admirers especially in the Spanish League) for the role of right winger. Gabriel was used for 79' against Juventus, in Turin, and 15' against Hellas Verona, in Veneto. In both cases, the Portuguese central defender moved well, but the 94' he played were certainly not a testing ground. Like Veiga, before signing with Lecce, he played for Estrela Amadora, with whose jersey he collected 11 appearances (for a total of 981'), also scoring a goal. This is an investment with a view to the future, to be introduced gradually, if he confirms the potential glimpsed by the head of the technical area Corvino and by the sporting director Trinchera.

Scott is a prospect considered very interesting in the medium term. The German central defender was taken from the Stuttgart under 19s, beating the fierce competition that was heading his way. He will turn 20 on February 3, 2006 and has a notable physicality and fairly educated feet. Everyone at Lecce hopes that he will live up to expectations and land a permanent place in the first team.