Benfica linked once again with AZ Alkmaar striker

Benfica will be looking for another striker when the summer transfer window opens, as it looks to find a forward who can not only score but also insert himself into games with authority, something it was clearly lacking last season.

The four strikers that Benfica used this past season, Arthur Cabral, Marcos Leonardo, Casper Tengstedt and Petar Musa, combined for a total of 28 goals across all competitions. Goncalo Ramos scored 27 goals all by himself during the 2022-23 campaign, so you can see why the club is going to the well one more time this summer.

A familiar name has reappeared on the list of potential suitors that the club will be looking at and that is AZ Alkmaar striker Vangelis Pavlidis, who the club was linked to last summer before acquiring Arthur Cabral from Fiorentina.

The 25 year old Greek striker just finished his best season as a member of Alkmaar since joining them in the summer of 2021. A season that saw Pavlidis score 33 goals across all competitions, six more than all of Benfica's options in 2023-24.

Pavlidis will not come cheap if Benfica is to go this route, costing the club at minimum €25M and the club will need to move on first from Cabral and, to a lesser extent Tengstedt if they are to make a move to acquire the lethal striker they so badly need for the upcoming season.

Look for Benfica to sniff around a host of strikers this summer, with Pavlidis' name being just the first of what might turn into a long summer for the Lisbon club if they hope to find the right piece to their attacking puzzle for next season.