"Electric, skilful winger", is what his former club Manchester City calls Forbs on their website. Forbs was born in 2004 in Sintra, a place and municipality in the Portuguese Riviera, an area on the west coast of Portugal known for its historic palaces, castles, parks and beaches. It's at the foot of the Sintra mountain range and is even listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Youth player
He started playing football at NADC Sintra, a local football club in his hometown. At the age of nine, he was picked up by Sporting Lisbon. After one season in Portuguese the youth academy, Forbs left for England as a ten-year-old: Manchester City. There, he went through all the youth teams and could rely on excellent statistics. In 2021, he was voted the best U18 player in Manchester City's youth academy.
In the past season, he scored 29 goals and provided eighteen assists in 33 matches for Manchester City's U21 team. With this, he secured the championship, the top scorer title, and Borges was named the best player in the Premier League 2, the competition for U21 teams of English clubs.
Forbs also made an impact on the European stage. At the age of seventeen, he made his debut in the UEFA Youth League against RB Leipzig. As a substitute, he became the matchwinner by scoring the only goal of the match just before the final whistle. In the 2022/2023 Youth League season, he opened with a hat-trick in the 5-1 victory against Sevilla.
Despite his Guinean-Bissauan roots, Forbs played in the national youth teams of Portugal. He played a total of 22 international matches for Portugal U16, U18, and U19 teams, scoring four times. In July of this year, Forbs participated in the U19 European Championship in Malta, where he reached the final with his team. Despite the loss to Italy, he was included in the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
Fourth Portuguese Ajax-player
Forbs is the fourth Portuguese ever in Ajax's first team. Daniel da Cruz Carvalho had the first honour in the 1996/1997 season. Dani was the first Ajax player from Portugal. The attacking midfielder with refined technique and a beautiful left foot came over from Sporting CP in August 1996.
In addition to being the first, Dani is also the Portuguese player with the most appearances in Ajax 1. The crowd favourite - especially among female fans - wore the Ajax shirt in 98 matches and made them cheer seventeen times. Dani won the only prizes of his career as an Ajax player. In 1997/1998, Ajax won the double. In the following season, he added another KNVB Cup. Dani returned to Portugal in the summer of 2000, where he played half a season for Benfica. After two and a half years at Atletico Madrid, he ended his career and focused on becoming a football analyst.
Varela successor Dani
His successors didn't reach the same heights (yet). Almost twenty years after Dani left, Ajax signed a new Portuguese player again, goalkeeper Bruno Varela. The reserve goalkeeper came on loan from Benfica in the winter of 2019. Upon his return to the Lisbon club in the summer of 2020, Varela played three official matches for Ajax 1. In that short time, he won a league title (2018/2019), the KNVB Cup (2018/2019), and the Johan Cruyff Shield in 2020. Not a bad score for a goalkeeper who was mostly valuable 'in the dressing room'.
Promising Conceição
What the future holds for Ajax and Francisco Conceição is still unclear. The winger can look back on a decent debut season, in which he played 28 matches. The twenty-year-old attacker has already shown a glimp of his undeniable talent. In theory, Conceição has what a player needs to become a right-winger at Ajax.
