Roger Schmidt dropped the ball in Vlachodimos situation

Benfica manager Roger Schmidt may be facing his first turbulent moment since arriving in Lisbon when it comes to the situation with the clubs long time number one keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos. Schmidt singled out the 29 year old Greek international in the teams opening season loss to Boavista in an interview and then went as far as to pull him from the clubs starting XI going into Week 2 of the season.

This did not sit well with Vlachodimos who went to speak to the manager in person, this led to an argument that saw the Greek keeper taken out of the match day squad all together. Vlachodimos was unhappy by the criticisms made by Schmidt publicly from his performance in Week 1 and now feels that the only solution may be to depart from the club. 

Schmidt's handling of the situation may have also ruffled some feathers in the dressing room were the Greek keeper has friends who are sure to not be impressed by Schmidt's inability to keep the situation in house. Vlachodimos has been with Benfica since the summer of 2018, appearing in 225 games for the club, while capturing two League Championships and two Super Cups.

Manchester United and Ajax are said to be two clubs interested in the keepers services. 

Zenit hope to convince Neres to join club

Zenit St. Petersburg is reportedly set to make a big push for Benfica winger David Neres hoping to convince the 26 year old to leave the Lisbon club and make the move to Russia. Zenit are hoping that Neres current role of substitute for Benfica can play a part in Neres agreeing to the move.

Neres joined Benfica last summer as he departed Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for €15.3M and signed a five year contract at the time with a buy out clause of €100M. Benfica are reluctant to let the talented winger go but Zenit are determined to offer Neres a salary he may not be able to refuse and are said to be ready to offer Benfica €40M+ for his services.

Benfica will hope that Russia's current situation with Ukraine which was part of the reason Neres departed last summer and the countries sanctions that see no club compete in UEFA competitions is enough of a deterrent to keep Neres in Lisbon.

With the uncertain futures next summer of Angel di Maria and Rafa Silva, Benfica can not afford to lose the skilled winger.
 

Benfica tickets in high demand in Portugal

Benfica's clinching of the Portuguese League last season and their recent victory to open the season in which they captured the Super Cup over arc rivals FC Porto, has re-activated that special place in the hearts of the clubs supporters and they are showing love with a high demand for tickets to watch the club this season.

Benfica announced that active club members will have priority in purchasing tickets to the clubs games this season as the club struggles to make all its fans happy with the current demand for tickets much higher then seats available. This is an important moment for the club as they look towards another memorable season both at home and abroad in UEFA.