Benfica continue their search for attacking depth and have turned their attention to Tigres striker Enner Valencia. The 29 year old Ecuadorian striker is said to be valued at €8M and spent four seasons in England between 2014 - 2017 representing West Ham and Everton. Bruno Lage knows Valencia well from his time spent in England and wants to bolster the clubs attacking options behind recent acquistion Raul de Tomas and last seasons leading goal scorer Haris Seforovic. The obstacle that could prevent Benfica from completing the move is Valencia's annual salary which is currently €2.5M annually. Benfica would need to convince Valencia to lower his salary if he were to make a move to the Portuguese club.
Benfica have loaned midfielder Krovinovic to English second division club West Brom Albion for the season. The loan deal does not include a buy out clause at the end of the loan so Krovinovic could return back to Lisbon at loans end unless a buyer comes along for his services. Krovinovic feel out of the clubs plans at Benfica once new manager Bruno Lage enter the fold. Krovinovic joined Benfica in the summer of 2017 from Rio Ave for €3.5M and the midfielders form once inserted into the clubs lineup provided a spark to the team but a horrific injury to his ligament had Krovinovic on the sidelines for an extended period of time and he was never again able to find regular duty with the club. Krovinovic leaves Benfica having appeared in 28 games in all competitions and scoring just once.
The Portuguese Super Cup is all set to take place on August 4 in Algarve at 8:45PM WEST between defending League Champions Benfica and Taca de Portugal winners Sporting. The 43rd edition of the game will take place at the Estadio do Algarve which holds a seating capacity of over 30,000 and should be to capacity as Portugal's most popular clubs head south to kick off the Portuguese season. Sporting and Benfica hold 17 Super Cup titles with Sporting edging Benfica 9 to 8 in total Super Cup victories.
