Benfica have made an agreement with Boavista to land 24 year old Croatian striker Petar Musa after the clubs are said to have made an agreement that involves cash and players according to reports from Portugal. Benfica have been in negotiations for Musa for quite some time and the deal finally looks to be closed.
Musa was on loan from Sparta Prague with a buy option for a reported €3.5M which Boavista have activated. Benfica will give Boavista €5M for Musa along with the rights to Ilija Vukotic who is currently already at Boavista on loan and the 50% of the rights of left back Ricardo Mangas that the club still owned.
Musa has had a great first season in Portugal, appearing in 35 games across all competitions, scoring 12 goals while adding 4 assists. Musa is Benfica's first signing for the 2022/23 season as the club looks to get back on track after a string of disappointing seasons that has seen them go trophy less.
Benfica continue to be linked to players currently applying their trade in the Eredivisie which is the current league of incoming manager Roger Schmidt. The latest players linked to Benfica are two of Schmidt's own PSV players, Mario Gotze and Ibrahim Sangare who have patrolled the midfield for the Dutch side for the past two seasons.
The 29 year old Gotze is a former World Cup champion with Germany and has an affordable buyout clause reported at €4M. Gotze has appeared in 74 games for PSV across all competitions, scoring 18 goals while setting up the same amount. Gotze had spent all of his playing career in Germany between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund before joining PSV on a free transfer in the summer of 2020 and has spent the majority of his career playing in an attacking midfield role.
Sangare who is 24 years old also joined PSV in the summer of 2020 from French club Toulouse for €7M and would be a more costly acquisition for Benfica, some saying in the €20M-€25M range. Sangare who plays in the defensive midfield role, has appeared in 85 games for PSV across all competitions, scoring five goals while also setting up five. Sangare has also been linked with richer sides Arsenal, Tottenham and Leicester City.
The continued links that Benfica have with various players no matter who they end up actually obtaining, does mean one thing, expect big changes at the club for next season.
Benfica have added RKC Waalwijk defender Ahmed Touba to their summer transfer wish list according to reports from French publication Foot Mercato. Incoming new manager Roger Schmidt is famaliar with the 24 year old center back from their encounters in the Dutch Eredivisie over the past two seasons. Schmidt has a plan for Benfica and is looking to add the right players to his incoming system for next season.
Touba who plays internationally for Algeria was born in France and spent his youth in the Belgian football system, spending time at Club Brugge, OH Leuven and FC Brugge before moving to Dutch side Waalwijk in the summer of 2020. Touba has appeared in 60 games across all competitions for Waalwijk, scoring three goals while setting up an additional two. Touba's addition would more then likely mean the departure of one of the clubs senior center backs in Jan Vertonghen or Nicolas Otamendi.
