Former Portuguese international striker Nuno Gomes has heaped praise upon Inter midfielder Joao Mario following his compatriot’s recent upturn in form.

“It has taken some time but now Inter are giving more playing time to him he is slowly starting to show his talent, and a player with his talent is different from the rest,” he said in an interview with TuttoMercatoWeb on the sidelines of the WyScout forum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Joao Mario appeared to be Inter’s forgotten man but has starred in his last two – and only – appearances this season scoring one goal and tallying a hat-trick of assists.

Some ill-advised comments in the summer about not liking Inter and Italian football saw fans turn against the EURO 2016 champion and his days at Inter appeared to be numbered but he appears to have really turned the corner and could be an important player for Inter for the remainder of the season.