Benfica continue their search to add gifted offensive players to their current squad and with the recent departures of Raul de Tomas and Caio Lucas, the club have room on their roster to add a player that they feel can help the club going forward. Benfica's attention is currently on Lyon's 23 year old winger Maxwel Cornet according to reports coming from France dailies. Lyon who are now the front runners to land the services of Benfica midfield target Bruno Guimaraes for a reported €25M+ from Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense are said to be looking to add funds to their war chest in pursuit of Guimaraes and are open to listening to offers for the Ivory Coast International. Cornet joined Lyon in the winter of 2015 from French club Metz for a mere €400K and has appeared in 198 career games for Lyon across all competitions, scoring 45 goals while adding 23 assists over that same span. Cornet who is primarily a right winger can also play on the left side of the field and as a striker when needed. Benfica see Cornet in the role that Eduardo Salvio occupied with the club over the past few years before his summer departure to Boca Juniors and would give the club an option on the wing if and when they decide to use a 4-3-3 formation. No purchase price for Cornet has been reported but Benfica could expect to pay a transfer fee in the €15M-€20M range for his services.
Caio Lucas' stay at Benfica was a short one after joining the club in the summer on a free transfer from Al-Ain, Benfica have loaned Lucas back to U.A.E. this time with Al Sharjah for 18 months with an option to buy for €10M. Benfica will also receive €1.5M from the Emirates club for the loan spell. The 25 year old Lucas appeared in only eleven games for Benfica across all competitions, scoring once and assisting on another in 317 minutes of action this season. Lucas continued to fall down the pecking order with the club in many cases not even ending up on the substitutes bench. Al Sharajah are hoping that Lucas can regain the form he displayed with Al-Ain during his three seasons as a member of the club.
Spanish side Alaves are the leading contenders to land Benfica's little used midfielder Ljubomir Fejsa according to reports coming from Portugal. Fejsa who has appeared in only five games across all competitions for Benfica this season has also been linked with Turkish clubs Sivasspor and Fenerbahce, he last appeared on the field for Benfica in early October. The recent acquisition of German midfielder Julian Weigl during this transfer period has made the 31 year old Serbian expandable and with manager Bruno Lage's preference on smaller squads this should mean that Fejsa will depart before the winter transfer window closes. The clubs have not agreed if the move would be permanent or if Benfica will loan Fejsa until the end of the season with an option to make the deal permanent. Fejsa joined Benfica in the summer of 2013 from Olympiacos and has appeared in 168 games across all competitions scoring twice, the defensive midfield wizard though has spent more and more time in recent seasons in the clubs infirmary dealing with a long list of injuries. Fejsa has won 13 trophies in his time at Benfica with five of those being league championships.
