The youngster is not a regular for Flamengo at this time only appearing in 5 games last season but is a left footed center back which is a valuable quality for the position. Benfica are hoping to negotiate an affordable price point with the Brazilian club and could commence talks when the winter transfer window opens in the next couple of days.
.jpg "Benfica in talks with Chelsea about Joao Felix loan")
Chelsea acquired Felix from Atletico Madrid for €52M in the summer, but new Chelsea bench boss Enzo Maresca does not seem to be a fan of the former Golden Boy winner, having used Felix in only 293 minutes of action in the Premier League. Felix has scored once while providing one helper although he does have four markers in the UEFA Conference League.
The rumours of course, have now heated up that Felix is unhappy with his role, or lack of a role with Chelsea and would be open to a move back to Lisbon to join Benfica even if it is only on a temporary basis. Felix would welcome a move that would give him regular playing time.
Felix left Benfica for Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2019 for what is still a club record €127M sale. His career since the departure has been full of highs and lows, with more lows then highs over the past couple of seasons.
If Benfica aims to compete in both the Portuguese league and Europe, an urgent need for improvement in scoring from their striking options is evident. The current tally of 15 goals is alarming when considering the time spent on the field. On average, this translates to a meager goal every 166 minutes, far from what is needed for a club of Benfica's stature. This inefficiency isn't just numbers; it's a barrier to success.
With key matches approaching in both the Liga Portugal and the UEFA
competitions, an upturn in offensive production is essential. Benfica
can't afford to miss opportunities if they aim to secure important victories.
Pavlidis, the regular starting striker shows promise with his physical attributes and ability to play in the attacking role. His work rate is commendable, but he often struggles to convert chances into goals. Improving his finishing would give the club a huge boost. He has converted a mere 6 goals in 1522 minutes while providing 4 assists.
Cabral has been a mixed bag since joining the club last summer. While he possesses great technique, consistency in front of goal has been elusive. He's capable of brilliance but must find a way to replicate that on a regular basis if he is to be a key player for the squad. He has 4 goals in 493 minutes.
Amdouni has had some impressive moments during his loan spell. His pace and positioning
are assets; however, identifying his strengths could help him make a more
significant impact moving forward for the club. Amdouni has hit the twine 5 times in 499 minutes and started 5 games from the clubs 23 to date.
Benfica’s attacking statistics lag behind teams like Sporting and FC Porto when you compare each club's attack from the striker position. Sporting star striker Gyokeres himself has chipped in 27 goals while his back up Harder has added 7 goals himself for a whopping 34 goals combined, more the double of Benfica's attack.
While FC Porto's new arrival Samu has scored 15 goals as he adjusts quickly to the club and his back ups Gul and Namaso have provided 5 goals combined. Although their tally is not much higher then Benfica's, you can not compare the overall talent edge that the Lisbon club has over their northern rivals.
Bruno Lage's tactical style favours an attacking style and he encourages his players, especially his wingers to find space in the attacking half of the field. It is important to have player movement especially from his striker when the club has possession in the final third of the pitch.
There is not one simple solution to the lack of goals the club is getting from their strikers and time might heal this current issue but all three club strikers need to be more clinical when they get the opportunity in front of goal, as addressing this issue is critical in setting the stage for a successful season.
Benfica traveled to Madeira to take on Nacional today in a rescheduled Week 8 contest, which brought all the teams games played in the league leveled to 14 a piece. Benfica prevailed with a 2-0 victory behind a pair of Angel di Maria second half goals.
With the result Benfica now sit in second spot in the league just one point behind Sporting for the league lead and one point ahead of third place FC Porto. Benfica and Sporting go head to head December 29 at the Estadio Alvalade and the outcome will see who holds the league lead going into the new year.
Benfica have taken advantage of both Sporting and FC Porto's struggles of late to close the gap on top spot a stretch that has seen the club win eight of ten league games while playing the other two to draws.
Cabral joined Benfica in the summer of 2023 from Fiorentina with the hope of replacing departing starting striker Goncalo Ramos but he had long periods of struggle as he adapted to Portuguese football. The inconsistent play led Benfica to shop this summer for another striker and obtained Vangelis Pavlidis, pushing Cabral to a bench role with the occasional start this season.
Cabral has looked much better when called upon coming in off the bench, as the back up striker role seems to have lite a bit of a fire under the player. Cabral has appeared in 60 games across all competitions for Benfica, scoring fifteen goals while providing four helpers in 2,349 minutes of play.
Look for Benfica to hold onto the player until Atlanta or any other club with interest in Cabral meet their price point. The club are in no hurry to move on from the striker as they compete across four competitions this season which includes the Champions League.
Benfica went into their Champions League contest at home against a winless Bologna looking for a victory and inching closer to the knockout round of a revamped Champions League but laid an egg in a contest that ended in a scoreless draw.
With the result, Benfica sits in 15th spot in the standings with 10 points with two more contests left on the docket. Benfica thought they had opened the scoring just two minutes into the game but a Vangelis Pavilidis goal was ruled offside when checked by VAR.
Benfica was unable to get a ball past Bologna keeper Skorupski who came up big when needed and thanks to a few other wasteful opportunities in the second half by Benfica, the two clubs shared points in the first ever head to head meeting by the teams.
Benfica are a win away from the knockout round but with Barcelona and Juventus still to play in the new year, the club might need some help to get to the next stage.
Luckily for Benfica there are only two clubs on the outside of the Top 24 that could cause concern by moving into the Top 24 with the remainder of clubs mathematically still alive but unlikely to catch Benfica in points or goal differential.
The sites, cities and schedule is out and Benfica will be in the Southeast part of the USA when they hit the field. This is a bit of a blow to descendants of Portugal and Benfica fans that are heavily populated in the northeast part of the country. Can you say road trip....
Benfica will open the competition against Argentinian side Boca Juniors on June 16 at 6pm at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. They then face Auckland City of New Zealand on June 20 at 12pm, at Inter & Co. Stadium in Orlando. Their final group stage game will come against German side Bayern Munich on June 24 at 3pm in Charlotte at Bank of America stadium.
The top two sides in the group will advance to the round of 16 knockout stage and take on the top two clubs in Group D based on final standings. Group D participants include Chelsea, Flamengo, Leon and Esperance de Tunis. The tournament will be the first Club competition to have 32 clubs battling for the best club in the world.
His performance at Velez has caught the eye of a few suitors as he emerges as one of the best young backs in the Argentinian league. Benfica has the reputation for its successful scouting network,
often identifying talents before they become mainstream stars. This type of move fits into the game plan on acquiring young players with high potential.
Gomez appeared in the U20 World Cup for Argentina during this past summer and has appeared in 106 games across all competitions for Velez since cracking the main squad in 2022. Velez is said to be looking for over €10M for the players services, a price tag Benfica will work to reduce.
Benfica may not make the move for Gomez during the winter transfer window as it looks to hold onto all it's current center backs but with Otamendi set to become a free agent at the end of the season and the potential departure of one or both of Tomas Araujo and Antonio Silva in the summer. This is a player the club wants to keep in it's sight lines.
Benfica have been slotted into Pot 2 along with rivals FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Juventus, Chelsea, Borussia Dortmund and RB Salzburg. These clubs will avoid being grouped together in the competition.
Benfica's potential opponents in the group phase will come out of Pots 1, 3 and 4.
Pot 1 - Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Flamengo, Palmeiras, River Plate and Fluminense.
Pot 3 - Al Hilal, Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca, Ulsan HD, Leon, Monterrey, Boca Juniors and Botafogo.
Pot 4 - Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders, Urawa Red Diamonds, Al Ain, Hope of Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns and Auckland City.
This will be the first edition of a 32 club format for the Club World Cup and the potential of €50M to €80M going to the tournament winner should make this an exciting first edition.
UPDATED 12/05/24
Benfica will be in Group C after draw was held and will be in the same group as Bayern Munich, Boca Juniors and Auckland City while rivals FC Porto will face Palmeiras, Inter Miami and Al Ahly.
Currently, Estadio da Luz holds around 65,000 fans. However, many games
see a full house, making it hard for die-hard supporters to get tickets.
An expanded stadium would allow more fans to join in the excitement of
match days while adding more funds into the club's coffers.
The club did not go into details of the financial side of this expansion, which will be crucial. Benfica would likely look at several channels to fund the project, through sponsorship deals, increased ticket sales and possible public and private partnerships.
Cost estimates for the expansion are not yet public, but it’s clear
that sound financial planning will support this ambitious venture. Costa did state that the capacity increase would not change the club's current conditions of security, access, comfort and visibility. More to come on this amazing development.
