Benfica linked with Bahia midfielder

According to reports coming from Brazil, Benfica are being linked with a summer move for 21 year old midfielder Patrick de Lucca who applies his trade with Brazilian side Bahia since arriving from Palmeiras' under 20 squad in the summer of 2020. De Lucca has an €8M price tag and any sale of the player would see funds split between three clubs, Bahia 50%, Palmeiras 30% and Portuguesa 20%.

De Lucca has appeared in 16 games for Bahia across all competitions and has scored twice while setting up another. Benfica who will be looking to shore up its midfield during the summer transfer window would do well in acquiring the talented youngster as the clubs midfield has been its achilles heal this season relying strictly on Adel Taarabt's skill to provide any attacking options. Bahia currently has defender German Conti on loan from Benfica and the club could use Conti to lower the price tag further.

 

 

Benfica's final push for Champions League spot

Benfica enter the final five league games sitting in third spot and hoping to land a coveted place in next seasons Champions League group stage by finishing in the top two places in Portugal which would guarantee the club millions. Benfica are currently four points behind second place FC Porto and ten points behind league leaders Sporting and will need a little help while maintaining a perfect run in their final games.

Benfica have the most difficult five games compared to Sporting and FC Porto, a final five that includes three games against clubs in the top six. This includes games against both clubs in front of them at home and a road game against Guimaraes. Benfica's other two games which are both on the road will take place against Tondela and Nacional. 

All is not lost if Benfica do not finish in the top two but their road to the Champions League becomes all that more difficult having to pass two rounds before earning their place all the while keeping an eye on fourth place Braga who still sit within shooting distance of third place just five points back.

Rafa Silva opened to departing club in summer

According to reports coming out of Portugal, Benfica winger Rafa Silva could be set to depart the Lisbon club during the summer transfer window and a move abroad is in his sights. The 27 year old is having a very good season with the club and Benfica are looking to finally cash in on a player they acquired in the summer of 2016 from Braga for a then record €16M fee. English clubs Everton and Newcastle have been linked with Rafa in the past and Benfica is said to be looking at a sale price of €50M for the Portuguese international.

Rafa has spent his entire career in Portugal to date and is said to be very interested in playing in England before his career comes to an end. Rafa has appeared in 177 career games for Benfica across all competitions, scoring 46 goals while adding 31 helpers. Rafa has won two Portuguese League titles, along with a Taca de Portugal and Super Cup during his Benfica career and was a member of the Portugal national team during the nations two cup triumphs, Euro 2016 and the Nations League in 2019.

Benfica closing in on Gil Vicente midfielder

Benfica could be set to commence negotiations with Fernando Brito who is the player agent for Gil Vicente midfielder Lucas Mineiro who is currently on loan with the Portuguese club from Brazilian side Chapecoense. Mineiro's agent is set to travel to Portugal to discuss options with his player and to meet with Gil Vicente management as the two sides get set to discuss the players future. The 25 year old defensive midfielder's loan is set to expire at the end of June and reports from Portugal have Benfica ready to make a move for Mineiro. Brito has told Portuguese television station TVI that he does not plan to meet with Benfica brass during his visit but that has not stopped the rumours that this could be the start of negotiations between the two sides. Mineiro has appeared in 31 games for Gil Vicente across all competitions and has chipped in two goals while setting up another.

Benfica looking at Valenciennes center back

Benfica are interested in Valenciennes 17 year old center back Ismael Doukoure who is seen as one of the more promising players in French football. The list of potential suitors is at an all time high and some of the potential clubs that will battle Benfica for the youngsters signature are the likes of Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona and Lyon who are all keeping tabs on Doukoure. Valenciennes is said to be looking for around €6M to €8M to let Doukoure go as the center back has a valid contract with the Ligue 2 side until the summer of 2023. Doukoure has appeared in 18 games across all competitions for Valenciennes this season.

Benfica slim title hopes are over with loss to Gil Vicente

With their 2-1 loss today at home to Gil Vicente, we can say that the clubs slim chances to capturing the league title are all but done and this rests heavily on the shoulders of the clubs current manager Jorge Jesus. What many Benfica fans saw as the clubs saviour, (I did not) has led the club to one of their more disappointing seasons in some time, this after spending a record €115.50M in player acquisitions over the summer transfer window.

Benfica's season should be considered a disaster after spending those sums of money to bring in the managers preferred players only to see a run of poor results. Those results have Benfica in third spot in Portugal with their Champions League aspirations hanging in the balance. Benfica trails second placed FC Porto by three points and a guaranteed place in the group stage but are also three points ahead of fourth place Braga and could fall out of the Champions League altogether.

Dantas catches attention of German clubs

Tiago Dantas got his first official start for Bayern Munich last weekend, a move that caught many by surprise with the 20 year old youngster having appeared in a total of just three minutes the whole season with the Bundesliga club. Dantas who was loaned to Bayern Munich until seasons end in October by Benfica has played a total of 69 minutes this season with Bayern and has spent most of his time with the second team.

Bayern has a buy option of just €7.5M if they decide to keep Dantas and have until the end of May to activate this clause, Benfica would be entitled to an additional 25% percent of any future sale by Bayern as part of the deal. The starting assignment for Dantas created a buzz in Germany and reports state the one current Bundesliga club and several second division sides are ready to move for Dantas if Bayern choose to not make the loan permanent.

 

Benfica's month of March earns rewards

Benfica was a perfect 4-0-0 in the month of March, scoring nine goals, while keeping a clean sheet in all games. The month has not gone unnoticed with the league recognizing the clubs performance by awarding keeper Helton Leite the keeper of the month, Seferovic the forward of the month and Jorge Jesus as the manager of the month. Seferovic was also named the player of the month having scored six goals with one assist in the four games. Benfica has continued their fine defensive form into this month and have now not allowed a goal in their last six league games.

Tottenham will not activate option to purchase Vinicius

It is looking less and less likely that Tottenham will activate the €45M buy clause on their loan deal with Benfica to purchase striker Carlos Vinicius. With the current world pandemic going on and Tottenham looking set to miss out on the Champions League windfall, their focus shifts to sellers more so then buyers when the summer transfer window opens. Vinicius has scored ten goals across all competitions in 24 games played but has only scored once in Premiership action.

Vinicius played one season at Benfica after arriving from Napoli in the summer of 2019 and led the league in scoring with 18 goals, while setting up another eight. Vinicius would add another five goals across all other competitions for the club. With Benfica having plenty of options in the striker position, don't expect the 26 year old to remain with the Lisbon side next season as the club will look for suitors to take a long look at Vinicius and may even sell the striker for half the price of his current buy clause with Tottenham to recoup and make a little profit on the player.

Benfica still monitoring Rangers midfielder

There are reports coming out of Scotland that Benfica still have some interest in Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara and are still monitoring the player as the season winds down. The 25 year old Finnish international joined Rangers in the winter of 2019 for a mere €55K from Dundee FC and will land the Scottish club a windfall when he departs the club for greener pastures.

Kamara spent a substantial amount of time during his youth years developing in England with Arsenal and Southend before moving north to Dundee FC in the summer of 2017 on a free transfer. Benfica got two good looks at Kamara's skill in the defensive midfielder role during their two game encounter in Europa League group play. 

Kamara does have two years left on his Rangers contract but with interest growing around Europe for his services, the Scottish side will be hard pressed to hang onto the player past this season. Kamara has appeared in 99 games across all competitions for Rangers, chipping in four goals while setting up five others. Rangers would be looking for a transfer fee of €10M - €15M to depart with the services of Kamara.

Benfica interested in Portimonense striker

Benfica are being linked with another player in the Portuguese League, this time with Portimonense's 23 year old striker Beto. At a time were Benfica is evaluating players in the domestic league for next season, the Lisbon born Beto has caught not only the attention of Benfica but their cross town rivals Sporting. Beto made his first appearance with the Algarve side in August of 2019 but has been a regular member of the main squad this season after spending some time with the clubs under 23 side.

Beto is signed with Portimonense until the summer of 2023 and is said to have a buy out clause of €40M but Portimonense is open to selling 70% of the players rights for a mere €8M. Beto has appeared in 23 games across all competitions this season, scoring nine goals while setting up two and is eligible to play for both Portugal and Guinea-Bissau internationally. Benfica are being linked to more and more players domestically as the look to save on player transfers during the summer transfer season.

Benfica's Grimaldo linked to Atletico Madrid

Benfica left back Alex Grimaldo could join a long list of players that have moved between Benfica and Atletico Madrid during the summer transfer window according to reports coming from Spain. Atletico's manager Diego Simeone is said to be unsatisfied with the clubs current starting left back Renan Lodi and is ready to add an alternative during the summer months with Grimaldo at the top of his wish list.

The 25 year old Grimaldo has a contract with Benfica until the summer of 2023 which includes a €60M buy out clause but Benfica may already be looking at moving on from the Spaniard after the season with links to Wolverhampton's Ruben Vinagre dominating the news over the past few weeks. Grimaldo joined Benfica to start the year in 2016 from Barcelona B and has appeared in 191 games across all competitions for the club, scoring thirteen goals while setting up an additional thirty-seven.

Over the years Benfica and Atletico have completed various player transactions between one another. These transactions have seen Joao Felix (2019), Nico Gaitan (2016), Simao Sabrosa (2007) and Jan Oblak (2014) join the Madrid club, while heading over to Lisbon from the Spanish side has been Pizzi (2013), Salvio (2010), Roberto (2010), Jose Antonio Reyes (2008) and Raul Jimenez (2015).

Benfica using Gestifute to land Famalicao pair

Benfica have taken the first steps in their pursuit of Famalicao pair, Ruben Vinagre and Manuel Ugarte. The 21 year old left back and 19 year old defensive midfielder have been targeted by the club for moves to Lisbon this summer, although Vinagre is currently on loan from Wolverhampton and does not belong to Famalicao. Benfica have called in the help of super agent Jorge Mendes and his Gestifute agency to facilitate the move as well as assist on the movement of players away from the club. Benfica have also been linked with current Famalicao keeper Luiz Junior and are open to taking all three players to Lisbon when the summer transfer window opens.

Benfica ready to take a run at another big name striker

Benfica look ready to try their luck one more time on a marquee striker after failing in their pursuits of Edinson Cavani and Diego Costa over the past year and have set their eyes on upcoming free agent Sergio Aguero. The long time Manchester City striker is free to sign with any club in the summer and Benfica are throwing their name in the hat as they look to land the Argentinian international. Benfica will be hard pressed to obtain Aguero's signature with the likes of Barcelona and PSG to compete with for the strikers services.

Aguero has spent the past ten seasons with Man City since arriving from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011 and has appeared in 384 games across all competitions, scoring 257 goals while setting up an additional 73. Aguero gets set to depart City as the clubs all time leading goal scorer and currently sits second in titles won with the club at 12. The 32 year old has also been capped 97 times by Argentina, chipping in 41 goals for third on the nations all time list. The landing of Aguero would be a major coup for Benfica not only on the field but off it as the veteran could lend a hand in the development of young strikers Darwin Nunez and Luca Waldschmidt. Benfica are reported to have offered a three year contract to Aguero.