Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Varela and Cadiz to return back to Benfica

Benfica Blog
Benfica loanees Bruno Varela and Jhonder Cadiz are set to return back to the club after the Dutch and French leagues had their seasons cancelled due to the COVID-19. Varela who returns from Ajax after spending the past one and half seasons with the club as their back up keeper, appeared in only three games with the main club across all competitions. Varela who spent the 2017/18 season as Benfica's number one keeper has a contract with the club until the summer of 2022 but is currently not in Benfica's plans going forward and will more then likely be loaned out once again next season. Cadiz who joined Benfica from Setubal this past summer has yet to appear with the Portuguese club and was loaned to French side Dijon for the season. Cadiz appeared in 22 games for Dijon across all competitions scoring three goals while adding three helpers. Cadiz's role with the club going forward is a bit more uncertain as Benfica may look at retaining the players services depending on what summer sales take place.

Monday, April 27, 2020

Barcelona linked with move for Ruben Dias

Benfica Blog
Barcelona have joined the race to land Benfica's central defender Ruben Dias according to reports from Catalan paper Mundo Deportivo who states that Dias is one of the names on the club's scouting agenda for some time. Barcelona joins the likes of Manchester City who are also monitoring the player. The paper also states that Benfica President Luis Filipe Vieira wants Dias' €100M buy out clause met in any negotiation and is not open to sit at the table to discuss the players move otherwise. Dias has appeared in 124 games across all competitions for Benfica, scoring eleven times and setting up another five since becoming a regular starter with the club during the 2017/18 season.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Taca de Portugal between Benfica and FC Porto could be cancelled

Benfica Blog
The Portuguese Football Federation is currently debating if there will be a Taca de Portugal final this season due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Taca de Portugal which is normally the last game of the Portuguese season was set to take place on May 24 between Benfica and FC Porto but unless the the P.F.F. gets the green light from the Directorate of General Health that the game can be played amid under strict restrictions the P.F.F. will not proceed with the game. The Federation has said it will not reach this conclusion without speaking to the two clubs involved but would not go against the Directorate if they were told the game could not be played. The Federation has accepted that if the game was to go forward it would be played in an empty stadium with the date and stadium to be determined.