Benfica kick off the second half of the
season on the road against Pacos Ferreira. Benfica will look to maintain their lead atop Portugal as they travel to the northern Portugal club. Benfica will play Pacos Ferreira tomorrow at 5:30pm
WEST and they will dress 18 players from the list below.
Keepers- Vlachodimos, Ivan Zlobin
Defenders- Tomas Tavares, Alex Grimaldo, Ruben Dias, Ferro, Jardel, Andre Almeida,
Midfielders- Chiquinho, Pizzi, Taarabt, Franco Cervi, Samaris, Julian Weigl, Rafa Silva, Gabriel
Forwards- Carlos Vinicius, Seferovic, Jota
Benfica continue their search to add gifted offensive players to their current squad and with the recent departures of Raul de Tomas and Caio Lucas, the club have room on their roster to add a player that they feel can help the club going forward. Benfica's attention is currently on Lyon's 23 year old winger Maxwel Cornet according to reports coming from France dailies. Lyon who are now the front runners to land the services of Benfica midfield target Bruno Guimaraes for a reported €25M+ from Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense are said to be looking to add funds to their war chest in pursuit of Guimaraes and are open to listening to offers for the Ivory Coast International. Cornet joined Lyon in the winter of 2015 from French club Metz for a mere €400K and has appeared in 198 career games for Lyon across all competitions, scoring 45 goals while adding 23 assists over that same span. Cornet who is primarily a right winger can also play on the left side of the field and as a striker when needed. Benfica see Cornet in the role that Eduardo Salvio occupied with the club over the past few years before his summer departure to Boca Juniors and would give the club an option on the wing if and when they decide to use a 4-3-3 formation. No purchase price for Cornet has been reported but Benfica could expect to pay a transfer fee in the €15M-€20M range for his services.
Caio Lucas' stay at Benfica was a short one after joining the club in the summer on a free transfer from Al-Ain, Benfica have loaned Lucas back to U.A.E. this time with Al Sharjah for 18 months with an option to buy for €10M. Benfica will also receive €1.5M from the Emirates club for the loan spell. The 25 year old Lucas appeared in only eleven games for Benfica across all competitions, scoring once and assisting on another in 317 minutes of action this season. Lucas continued to fall down the pecking order with the club in many cases not even ending up on the substitutes bench. Al Sharajah are hoping that Lucas can regain the form he displayed with Al-Ain during his three seasons as a member of the club.
