Benfica have decided to stop the pursuit of striker Edinson Cavani according to reports coming out of Portugal due to the Uruguayans exuberant salary demands. After weeks of rumours and speculation with reports coming out just yesterday that the club and Cavani had reached an agreement on a three year deal for €10M per season, it is now all over. Benfica was still open to paying a higher signing bonus over six years to the striker but Cavani's camp wanted everything in salary to the tune of €60M over three years thus ending talks.
Benfica have now decided that they will look elsewhere in their pursuit of a top striker at a more affordable price, moving away from the 33 year old who's salary demands just become too rich for the Lisbon side to bare. Benfica has a crucial Champions League playoff qualifier for a spot in the lucrative group stage coming up in a months time and manager Jorge Jesus would like to have a striker in place to conform to the clubs new tactics putting the pressure on club President Luis Filipe Vieira to deliver.
Roma defender Federico Fazio is the latest name linked with a move to Benfica as the club continues to look to add another veteran presence to its back line. The 33 year old central defender has fallen down the pecking order at Roma and has one year remaining on his current contract. Benfica who recently signed former Tottenham centerback Jan Veronghen to play along side Ruben Dias is looking to add insurance to its back line and a player that can get into the lineup when one of the starters needs a day off. Fazio joined Roma in the summer of 2016 on loan from Tottenham before making the move permanent a year later and has appeared in 158 games across all competitions for the Italian side. The addition of Fazio could see one of Jardel or Ferro depart the club before the start of the coming season.
Jorge Jesus has halted the loan move that was set to happen for Mile Svilar after Benfica had agreed to terms with Belgian side Heerenveen but the new Benfica manager has decided that he wants the 20 year old keeper to remain a bit longer with the club training at Seixal. Svilar was acquired by Benfica in the summer of 2017 for €2.5M from Anderlecht and has appeared 21 times for Benfica across all competitions since then. Svilar's only appearance for Benfica's main squad during this past season was a 4-0 win over Aves in Week 33 but he did appear in 20 games for Benfica's B squad were he had six clean sheets. Svilar may still depart the club on loan before the start of the season but Jesus wants to see what he has in the keeper before any decision is made on his future.
