Bayer Leverkusen have stepped up their interest in Benfica right back Joao Ferreira according to reports coming from Portugal. The 19 year old has spent the season toiling with Benfica's B squad appearing in 18 games amid high expectations for the Seixal made product. Leverkusen is said to be sending a representative to Lisbon to meet with the players agent after having kept an eye on the youngsters development this season. Benfica's price tag on Ferreira is a reported €10M, which would be a modest fee for a player linked in the past year to high profile clubs Juventus, Inter Milan and Barcelona. Leverkusen are hoping to succeed were these other clubs failed and take Portugal's U19 starting right back to Germany in time for the start of next seasons campaign.
Bruno Lage is ready to hand the starting striker spot back to Swiss International Haris Seferovic after a strong performance as a substitute in the clubs last match against Rio Ave. With Benfica struggling to score goals, averaging just 1.25 goals per game over their last eight league games compared to 2.42 in their first 19 games of the season. Bruno Lage is desperate to find a striker to step into the role that Carlos Vinicius filled well for the club during the first half of the season. Seferovic who was last seasons golden boot winner in the Portuguese League with 23 goals got off to a slow start this season without last seasons strike partner Joao Felix giving Vinicius the opportunity to take over his starting role.
The Brazilian striker who has scored 15 goals on the season has struggled with just one in his last seven games, opening the door for Seferovic to reclaim his starting role once again. Lage also has striker Dyego Sousa at his disposal who is on loan from Chinese club Shenzhen but Sousa has yet to score for the club in his 154 minutes of action. Bruno Lage knows that without a striker scoring regularly for the club, the teams chances of defending their league crown take a steep dive and this is why he is ready to give the reigns to Seferovic when the club takes on Santa Clara later this week.
Benfica is being linked to 18 year old attacking midfielder Yuriel Celi from Peruvian club AD Cantolao. According to reports from Italy, Benfica have yet to make a formal offer for the player but are currently investigating what it would take to land the player. Celi made the move to the main squad of Cantolao last season making 15 appearances while scoring once, he also featured for the Peru in the South American U17 Championship were he chipped in three goals. Benfica are not the only European club being linked to Celi with several Italian clubs interested in the youngster's services.
