Benfica continue flurry of winter window moves

Benfica are cleaning house during the winter transfer window and have made a flurry of moves that have seen player departures pick up the pace over the last few days with the window deadline set to close in a weeks time in most of the major European leagues. Benfica are looking at making the club leaner and will count on younger players in the organization to fill in when required.

Benfica's recent departures in the last week: Updated 01/30/23

Helton Leite (Keeper) to Antalyaspor - Free Transfer

Tomas Tavares (Right Back) to Spartak Moscow - €3M

Gil Dias (Winger) to Stuttgart - €2M

German Conti (Center Back) to Lokomotiv Moscow - €1M in objectives

John Brooks (Center Back) to Hoffenheim - €500K

Joao Victor (Center Back) to Nantes - Loan (no buy option)

Henriques Araujo (Striker) to Watford - Loan (no buy option)

Benfica are said to have been negotiating a buy back clause on Tavares' deal to Spartak but it has not been disclosed if this was added to deal.

Benfica are also still working on deals that could see  Andre Almeida and Ferro all with new clubs in the next week, so stay tuned as the moves are coming fast and furious.

Julian Weigl wants to stay in Germany

Benfica midfielder Julian Weigl who is currently on loan in Germany with Borussia Mochengladbach did a recent interview this weekend with Redaktion Netzwerk and admitted his desire to remain in Germany and not return to Benfica when his loan deal is up at the end of the season. Weigl stated that he feels good at Mochengladbach and has his eyes set on a return to the German national side.

The 27 year old Weigl joined Benfica from Dortmund in the winter of 2020 for €20M and appeared in 115 games across all competitions, scoring five goals while setting up an additional five before moving back to Germany in the summer. Benfica are said to be looking for €10M to €15M to allow the move to become permanent.

Benfica bring Goncalo Guedes home

In an unprecedented move, Benfica have agreed to a loan with Wolverhampton and are bringing home Goncalo Guedes, six years after his departure to PSG for €30M. The Seixal academy product arrived in Lisbon earlier today on a private jet from Birmingham after just five months at Wolves and will be presented as a reinforcement for Roger Schmidt's squad for the remainder of the season tomorrow.

The 26 year old is hoping a move to familiar grounds will help relaunch his career, that has currently stalled while at Wolverhampton this season. The loan deal is said to not include an option to make the move permanent at the conclusion of the season but is a huge win for the club never the less. Guedes has spent time at PSG, Valencia and Wolverhampton since moving away from the club.

Guedes last appeared in a game for Benfica on January 14, 2017 when the club hosted Boavista in a 3-3 draw and had appeared in 68 games for Benfica across all competitions, scoring eleven goals while setting up sixteen. Guedes is comfortable playing a variety of forward positions and should fit into Schmidt's club system quite well.