Benfica reps Rui Costa and Tiago Pinto are in Germany hoping to close a deal for 24 year old Freiburg striker Luca Waldschmidt. Benfica have been in talks for the left footed striker since the winter transfer window and with newly appointed manager Jorge Jesus giving the management side the green light in acquiring the youngster, the club hopes to have this deal sealed by the end of the current week. According to German daily Bild, Freiburg are said to want €12M to depart with the services of Waldschmidt who appeared in 24 games across all competitions for the German side this past season and scored seven goals while setting up three others. Benfica have also been linked heavily to Freiburg defender Robin Koch over the past few months but with Jesus' recent comments about wanting to add a more veteran presence to the back four, the trip to Freiburg will be for only one.
Newly appointed manager Jorge Jesus told the media that he expects the club to add as much as nine or ten reinforcements for the upcoming season in his quest to win the Portuguese League and be competitive in Europe once again. Benfica have added Boavista keeper Helton Leite and right back Gabriel to the squad over the weekend and have also extended the contract of winger Diogo Goncalves until 2025 after an impressive season on loan at Famalicao. Benfica acquired winger Pedrinho during the winter transfer window and expects winger Cebolinha to join the club early this week, bringing the total of new faces to five.
Jesus also stated that he is looking to shore up the back line which could see the squad add at least two more players into those defensive spots and is focused on the new arrivals being veterans. Jesus is also looking for a potential big striker up front and has his eyes set on Edinson Cavani with reports over the weekend from Italy saying that the deal is done but yet to be announced. Look for Jesus to also add a playmaker to his midfield as he looks to remake the current mold of the squad. The bad news for current club players is that many may have played their last game for the club and will depart either on loan or sold off completely before the start of next season.
The Brazilians are arriving with winter signing Pedrinho and Gilberto landing in Lisbon on Friday as the newest member and potentially member get set for discussions and physicals at Seixal. Winger Pedrinho who Benfica acquired during the winter transfer window from Corinthians made the trip to the Luz in which he had discussions with new manager Jorge Jesus while right back Gilberto arrived to finalize his move from Brazilian side Fluminense.
Gremio winger Cebolinha bid a farewell to his current club during a recent interview and is set to arrive in Lisbon next week with reports that Benfica and Gremio have reached an agreement for the Lisbon side to acquire 85% of the players rights with Gremio retaining the remaining 15%. Benfica are also set to begin discussions with Flamengo over the acquistion of secondary striker Bruno Henrique next week and have held talks with Fluminense about 19 year old striker Marcos Paulo.
Since Jesus' arrival Benfica have been linked with a host of Brazilian league players that also include Flamengo's Gerson and Santos' Lucas Verissimo on top of the current players above. Jorge Jesus is looking to remold the squad as he prepares to compete for the Portuguese crown and in European competitions next season and it is an exciting time to be a Benfica fan.
